(Finance) – The slowdown in the spread of Covid-19 in Italy and abroad, combined with a wide vaccination coverage, are the main factors that are leading to the first announcements of the overcoming of travel restrictions, in addition to the hypothesis of a summer without green pass. The prospect for the national airport sector, an essential element of the Italian tourism chain, of a recovery that now seems just around the corner, and which unfortunately will probably also have to deal with the effects of the terrible conflict that has hit Ukraine, were the topics at the center of the online conference entitled “Airports beyond the pandemic: how to restart?”, organized by Aeroporti 2030, the association that brings together the airports in Rome, Venice, Treviso, Verona and Brescia, set up to promote an innovative and sustainable vision of the aviation sector, in collaboration with Network, company specializing in lobbying and advocacy.
“This event, which is part of a series of conferences that Aeroporti 2030 is organizing, – he declared, opening the conference, Alfonso Celotto, president of Aeroporti 2030 – is intended to be an opportunity to stimulate discussion on issues of interest to the aviation sector and to initiate a comparison between public and private subjects who are interested in its growth and sustainable development. The recent ordinance of the Minister Speranza, in force from tomorrow 1st March, certainly marks an important step towards normalization and the restarting of our sector, especially in international connectivity. In fact, after 25 months from the declaration of the state of emergency, we can return to travel for tourism to and from numerous countries previously contained in List E, while travelers coming from abroad are not subject to a buffer or quarantine obligation if they provide proof of vaccination occurred. Even more so today, which unfortunately we find ourselves witnessing a terrible conflict that generates profound pain and new fears, once again throwing a blanket of uncertainty about the future, we must work together to support the aviation sector “.
In the greeting address the Minister of Tourism Massimo Garavaglia he underlined how the stringent topicality of the conflict risks having strong repercussions also on the tourism sector, already severely tested by the pandemic crisis. In this context of renewed uncertainty and serious concern, the minister nevertheless reiterated “the Government’s commitment to support the entire sector, highlighting how the fall of the latest restrictions will in any case give respite to operators in the tourism sector, stimulating restart of the flow of travelers arriving in our country “.
The hope is that the process towards total reopening can proceed according to the planned stages and that by next summer volumes equal to the pre-pandemic ones can again be registered, leaving behind us the health emergency and the war crisis. From the on-line conference, the need programminguseful to make the restart of the entire sector effective and to favor the competitiveness of the national airport system, which plays a role of strategic importance for the entire Italian economy.
In 2019 – according to what emerged from the webinar – national airports saw 193 million passengers transit. In the following two years, in the midst of the pandemic, the numbers were radically different: in 2020 the passenger flow reached a total of 52 million, compared to just over 80 million in 2021. Numbers that prove by themselves how much the pandemic crisis has hit the sector, one of the most penalized, and what are the margins for improvement and the objectives to be achieved in the short term in order to fully restart the entire Italian airport sector.
“The strengthening of the regulatory activity by Enac – he affirmed Pierluigi Di Palma, president of Enac – goes hand in hand with a commitment aimed at simplifying procedures and speeding up investigations, strengthening the effectiveness of administrative action in favor of those operating in the sector and to the benefit of the quality of services and the protection of passengers’ rights, with particular attention to PRMs, whose centrality is a distinctive element of the entity’s action. Lastly, Enac’s decision to provide, overcoming bureaucratic difficulties, an advance on compensation for damage from Covid-19 suffered by airport companies, among the most affected by the crisis resulting from the health emergency, is part of this process “.
Another topic under discussion among the speakers is the need for structural interventions capable of accompanying the overcoming of travel restrictions, already announced on several occasions by the Italian government, with a view to returning as soon as possible to the tourist flows of 2019.
“Today – he declared Monica Scarpa, CEO of the Save Group, which manages the airports of the North East airport – we are witnessing a progressive improvement in the situation caused by the spread of vaccination, for this reason we believe that the emphasis of our actions, as airport and tourist operators, must be supported on the concept of System. For tourism and its recovery it means working together, across the board, airports with airlines but not only, with institutions at all levels, local, regional and national. The opportunity of the next Winter Olympics must not be wasted: Veneto will have the opportunity to represent a model in this sense, focusing on the success of the Games, at the same time coordinating itself as a system to feed and manage new tourist flows. As Save Group, in setting up the North East airport pole, including the airports of Venice, Treviso, Verona and Brescia, we are carrying out with Rfi the project of connecting the Venice airport with the railway network, which will be ready for the 2026 Olympics “.
“The pandemic – he said Giacomo Trovat, Airbnb country manager Italy and South-East Europe – had a tremendous impact on the tourism and transport sectors. As regards the resumption of flows, especially international ones, normality is still far away, but the approach of the summer season and the gradual dissolution of the restrictions that the pandemic leaves us optimistic. I am also convinced that the new trends in living and traveling, especially long-term stays, are destined to influence the market in the years to come, and that they constitute a precious opportunity for Italy. It is important to move as a country system in order not to lag behind other European destinations that are already launching initiatives to attract smart workers and digital nomads “.
“The performances recorded by the Company in its first 4 months of operation – he said Fabio Lazzerini, CEO of ITA Airways – they were positive and culminated with the result of first airline in Europe for punctuality (96.1% of flights landed on time) and first in the world for regularity (99.6% of operated flights) in January 2022. Also looking into the future we intend to maintain these standards and constantly improve the performance of our company. We are convinced that it is essential to develop a new sustainable and quality tourism, in collaboration with the Italian tourism chain, for the economic revitalization of the sector and of the country “.