THE lockdown has hit the aviation industry harder than 9/11 and the financial crisis, with Southend Airport losing 90 per cent of its income, says its CEO.

All passenger flights to and from the airport were grounded in March this year after the World Health Organisation labelled Covid-19 as a pandemic, with the UK government announcing a lockdown on March 23.

Glyn Jones, CEO, who started working in the industry in 1985, 35 years ago, said financial reports for the business were “bleak” every week.

He said: “The hit on our industry has been so enormous, that the most focus is on the short term.

SOUTHEND AIRPORT NEWS 

“There are two big impacts; 9/11 which lasted less than a year, and the crash in 2007 and 2008, which lasted about two and a half years.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette:

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“This is miles worse. It’s not a bit worse, it’s enormously worse. We’ve lost 90 to 95 per cent of our income.

“At the beginning of March we were seeing roughly 5,000 to 5,500 passengers a day, by the end of March it was zero.

“It was 141 in April, and 230 in May. It’s not going to be a big number in June.

“It’s repatriation flights, cargo flights don’t have passengers.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette:

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“It’s just been a huge hit, huge on the airlines as well, they just have no income.

“The impact has been enormous and it’s existential, and there will be people that just won’t survive.”

While no passenger flights have gone ahead, the airport has continued operating its cargo flights with a global logistics firm - believed to be Amazon - and has maintained its cleaning staff and kept the premises “spotless”.

Those not on furlough have been working from home.

However, with a committed team and their business model, Mr Jones says he’s optimistic for the future.

He said: “What’s really blown me away is the effort people have put in.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette:

“Working from home has for all of us ended up being a 12 hour day, seven days a week.

“It’s just absolutely full-on.

“You think people will eventually just run out of energy, but they’re enormously energetic and very inventive as well.

Clacton and Frinton Gazette:

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“There are two things in our favour, the first is we are still very largely a leisure-based airport, leisure will come back before business for practical reasons.

“We’re a short haul airport and I think we have got a good chance of coming back early and a chance of getting more share, but you have to work really hard for it.”