ASA and ACA Joint Statement on COVID-19, Call for a Global Task Force to Prevent Collapse of Aviation Industry
Brussels, Belgium, 13 March 2020 - As the Coronavirus continues to spread at an alarming level, the Airport Services Association (ASA) and the Airline Catering Association (ACA) highlights the devastating economic and social impact of this crisis for the entire aviation industry.
The hundreds of thousands of men and women working in the ground handling and airline catering industry are on the frontline of this current pandemic. Nonetheless, they continue to work tirelessly, despite unforeseen circumstances and difficult working conditions.
Fabio Gamba, the head of ASA and ACA, says: “The economic effects of the coronavirus disproportionately affect the hundreds of thousands of men and women working in this industry. We need to take a measured, common-sense approach to this issue as many airport services worldwide continue to operate and provide their invaluable service in this time of crisis.”
To alleviate the economic impact of the coronavirus, the aviation services industry is calling for strong measures to prevent not only the breakdown of air transport but also to avoid that countries come to a standstill. For these measures to be fully effective though they must consider the men and women providing essential services to the airlines and airports, for without them, the sector will soon collapse.
ASA and ACA welcome the set of measures that governments are taking in order to alleviate the hardships caused by this pandemic. But further action must be taken and decided at an international level, not country by country. Leading regulators and aviation industry associations must urgently implement a strong action plan, including but not limited to the immediate waiving of taxes and charges that currently put an undue burden on aviation.
The industry must be supported to ensure employment in the short-term and the viability of airport and airline services for the future, and the two Associations stand ready to discuss which and how these measures should be applied with the responsible authorities.
