Mexican Airlines Maintain Downward Trend in May
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Mexican Airlines Maintain Downward Trend in May

Photo by:   Image by Júlia Orige from Pixabay
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Alicia Arizpe By Alicia Arizpe | Senior Writer - Mon, 06/08/2020 - 11:51

May was a harsh month for Mexican airlines, which are still grappling with the low demand caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Aeroméxico and Volaris have reported a double-digit decrease in demand for the troubled month.

Airlines across the globe have been in red numbers since March as the COVID-19 outbreak intensified. From that point on, an industry that had seen continuous growth started falling rapidly, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) warning that the industry was posed to lose US$314 billion in revenue during 2020. While the damage was widespread, airlines in Latin America seem faring worse due to the little support governments in the region have showed to the industry. The damage has led the two largest airlines in Latin America to declare bankruptcy within weeks.

The Mexican aviation industry is also facing a rough period. While the country has not closed its borders, it has been directly impacted by border closures from major destinations in Latin America and Europe. Moreover, it has faced a significant reduction in demand for flights to major destinations in North America. Trouble for the local aviation industry started back in March but intensified during April. May continued this downward trend with some local airports reporting an over 91 percent reduction in passenger traffic.

Mexico’s flagship airline Aeroméxico had already reported a troublesome April. On a report detailing May traffic released today, the airline reported that its demand measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) fell by 94.4 percent year-on-year for the month. Its capacity was also affected, as the airline saw a 76.6 percent decrease in available seat kilometers (ASK). Aeroméxico’s total transported passenger showed a 92.4 percent drop, for a total of 135,000 passengers. Low cost airline Volaris reported a similar situation. The airline, which reports its figures in miles, reported an 88.1 percent decrease in RPMs and 88.1 percent decrease in ASM during May. Altogether, Volaris transported only 213,000 passengers that month, a sharp decrease compared to last year’s 1.93 million. “May traffic was the most impacted month by COVID-19 to date. Nevertheless, for June 2020, Volaris announced it will operate approximately 33 percent of the originally planned schedule, responding to recent, stronger demand,” said Enrique Beltranena, President and CEO of Volaris.

As local airlines continue to grapple with the crisis, Mexico’s National Chamber of Air Transport (CANAERO) warned that the industry was likely to lose US$6.4 billion during 2020 due to the reduction in demand brought by the outbreak. For that reason, industry associations continue to ask local government for a plan to protect the industry during these troubling times.

Photo by:   Image by Júlia Orige from Pixabay

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