The tourism sector is ahead of this 2023 its recovery. After the pandemic, the setback in inflation did not materialize in a slowdown in travel, quite the contrary. The Airlines Association (ALA) forecasts 3% more scheduled seating for this one summer than in 2019, up to a total of 219 million, although he warns that problems in other European airportslike the strikes in France, congestion in the Netherlands and Brexit in the UK they could spoil the party.
Balearic Islands, Canary Islands or Andalusia They are the three large airports that are forecasting the best performance for this summer with estimates of 7.8%, 7.4% and 8.2% higher than the pre-pandemic summer season; while Madrid and Barcelona do they still have levels under (3.1% and 7.9% less, respectively). “Madrid and Barcelona have a ‘mix’ of different trafficwith more weight of business traffic and also an important component of urban business. That makes do not recover to the same level because habits have changed. Now more meetings are held by videoconference or remote work”, explained the president of ALA, Javier Gandara.
Despite the good figures, employers are cautious in anticipating another summer “congested & rdquor; at European airports and warns of the effect that the French air traffic control strike is having in Spain. According to a report from Eurocontrol, Spain is the most affected countryafter France, with 400 delayed flights and an increase of more than 60% in cancellations in the last month. “The impact affects not only French flights, but also many flights overflying France and that is why we ask that they be established minimum services for flights that cross French airspace & rdquor ;, Gándara has requested.
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To this problem, the also general director of Spain and Portugal of easy jet sums up the consequences that flight problems could have airports like Amsterdam –“which is already talking about reducing the number of flights& rdquor;– as happened last year in a good part of the continent, or United Kingdom –”We are also concerned because Brexit is a structural issue and there are carriers who see a lack of capacity& rdquor;–. “We hope we are wrong, but it may be that this summer there will be problems again in some European countries& rdquor ;, Gándara has insisted.
However, the employer maintains some optimistic outlook for the end of the year. “It is quite probable that in the accumulated of the year we will have the pre-pandemic traffic levels. After the confinement, the traffic that began to pull was domestic, then intra-European and then intercontinental& rdquor;, added Gándara. As he domestic traffic such as intercontinental are in March above 2019 levels, while the intraeuropean is below due mainly to the lower recovery of two countries that are essential for tourism in Spain, such as Germany (with flights between 10 and 15% below prepared levels) and the United Kingdom (still 2% below 2019 levels).