Corona and climate change
Difficult restart in tourism and air traffic
Passengers push their suitcases through the departure area in Terminal 1 of BER Airport. Photo: Monika Skolimowska / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Corona has pushed tourism and air traffic into a deep crisis. In addition to the uncertainties caused by the pandemic, which has not yet been resolved, the industry is worried about another mega-topic.
The corona crisis is not over yet, at the same time climate change is presenting the travel industry and air traffic with new challenges.
After the recent increase in bookings, the massive worsening of the corona infection situation is again causing uncertainty among holidaymakers. The travel association DRV expects another «difficult year». In the air transport sector, low-cost and network airlines are preparing for tougher cutthroat competition.
The DRV puts the loss of sales at travel agencies and tour operators since the beginning of the pandemic in spring 2020 at around 24 billion euros. The industry is optimistic about the coming summer. “However, we do not expect a sustainable recovery for the travel industry until 2023,” says DRV President Norbert Fiebig.
Organizers like Tui and DER Touristik are a little more confident. Tui assumes that the pre-crisis level from 2019 will be “fully or almost” in sight as early as next summer. DER Touristik expects that the level from times before the outbreak of the pandemic could almost be reached for the year as a whole.
Prepared for the pandemic
The industry seems to have adjusted to the pandemic, among other things with special or exclusive offers only for vaccinated and convalescent people (2G) as well as with flexible tariffs. With this, customers can rebook or cancel up to two weeks before the start of the trip for an additional charge.
In air traffic, the efficient low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Wizz Air are preparing for increased predatory competition in Europe’s skies. Both companies have ordered hundreds of additional jets for the coming years, which they will fill at competitive prices from 5 euros per ticket if there is no demand.
Wizz boss József Váradi definitely has long-haul routes in mind, on which smaller jets such as the Airbus A321XLR with a flight time of up to eleven hours will be able to cover significantly longer distances than before. This also makes overseas flights from smaller airports possible and there could be serious competition with network companies such as Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France.
Ambitious Turkish Airlines
They are currently in the process of catching up on the Corona dent and increasing the number of flights from 60 percent to 80 percent on average at pre-crisis levels. The ambitious Turkish Airlines, which has significantly expanded its program via the new hub near Istanbul, proved to be the attacker during the crisis. The opening of the USA to EU citizens is helpful for everyone, while on the other hand nobody knows when the important destinations in Asia will reopen.
For pilots and tourism professionals, the mega-topic of climate change is far more complex. Flights, cruises and road trips all contribute to the increase in harmful emissions. “We will have to look at the Achilles’ heel of travel: greenhouse gas emissions,” said Fiebig, president of the association.
Among other things, the association suggests: Providing all trips with a traceable CO2 footprint so that holidaymakers know what ecological footprint their trip is causing before booking. Customers should be advised on how the emission of greenhouse gases can be kept as low as possible and what compensation options are available.
Trend towards climate-neutral travel
DER Touristik wants to «develop standards for climate-neutral travel and convince our partners, especially hotels and airlines, to be as climate-neutral as possible,” reports Central Europe boss Ingo Burmester. “By collecting a CO2 footprint, which we want to convey transparently to the customer, we want to control booking behavior.”
Antje Monshausen from Tourism Watch at Bread for the World sees the tour operator as having an obligation to design the offers. “It is correct to state the CO2 footprint of a trip, but the decisive factor is a significant reduction in harmful emissions.” To do this, the organizers would have to offer other products on medium-haul routes in Europe too, for example increasingly traveling by train.
There is a lack of technological alternatives
Aviation is faced with the dilemma that there is a lack of technological alternatives to the giant engines that can lift take-off weights of up to 350 tons like the new Boeing 777X into the air. While Airbus has announced a short-haul jet with fuel cells by 2035, Boeing relies solely on combustion engines and sustainably produced aviation fuel (SAF). The big airlines around the world are already fighting over the low production volumes because more and more (business) customers are demanding climate-neutral flights. Lufthansa, for example, has secured SAF worth 250 million euros for three years, which is only enough for around 100 transatlantic flights. This corresponds to the Group’s performance on these routes on a single day.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is currently mainly produced from biomass such as vegetable and edible oils that are no longer used. Such biofuels are intended to significantly reduce CO2 emissions, but are currently considerably more expensive than normal kerosene.
Monshausen, the efforts with new, more economical aircraft and SAF are not enough. “At the same time, we are finding that all savings are being wiped out by the growth in air traffic. We need technological solutions and at the same time a reduction in flights. ” In addition to CO2, the formation of clouds by flying also plays a major role, as this reduces heat radiation from the earth.