The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic performance of European air navigation providers

Abstract

The main objective of paper, is to evaluate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economic results of European air navigation service providers. The paper provides a set of information; the impact of the pandemic on air traffic in Europe, funding and forms of financial assistance to air navigation service providers in Europe. The findings are based on the synthesis of the knowledge from the research. Two analyses are carried out to achieve the goal. The first analysis focuses on selected financial and economic indicators for all 37 air navigation service providers and concentrates on the pre covid period. Due to the limited data availability, second analysis looks at the three selected European air navigation service providers and compares the financial analysis indicators for 2019, i.e. the year before the outbreak of the pandemic. It also includes 2020, 2021, while the Covid outbreak persisted in Europe. The findings of the paper confirm the stable development of financial and economic indicators in the pre-recession period and also the deteriorating situation during the Covid period. In the conclusion, recommendations are proposed to help to identify more comprehensively the impact of crises such as the Covid-19 crisis on the financial situation of air navigation service providers in order to create a more resilient funding system.