2020 was probably one of the most difficult years for the air transport sector, both for the airport and for all the airlines. The number of passengers in March-December 2020 declined by almost 80% compared with the corresponding period of 2019, said representatives of “Avia Invest” company that manages the Chisinau International Airport. According to them, the situation remains uncertain in 2021 too as the air transport continues to suffer because of the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Compared with other countries, the airport in Chisinau suffers also because only international flights are operated there. We do not have internal flights, as they have in Romania, Ukraine, Russia or other countries in Europe where, besides the international air passenger transport, there are also local flights. Respectively, the situation in our country is affected by the measures applied by the countries in relation to the Republic of Moldova and, surely, by the measures we impose on the foreigners,” said Rodica Rusu, spokeswoman for “Avia Invest”, stated for IPN.
The losses in the sector are enormous and the data presented by the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure show that these amounted to about 500 million lei in 2020. In 2019, nearly 3 million passengers were transported by air, while in 2020 this figure was 900,000. “It’s simple math. All the revenues of airlines are directly proportional to the number of transported passengers. If the number of passengers decreased three-four times, the revenues declined similarly. For example, today there can be five-seven-ten flights to and from. Before the pandemic, the figure normally was three or even four times higher,” explained Rodica Rusu.
The spokeswoman for “Avia Invest” made reference to the experience of other states in which the governments offer support to the sector. Sums of billions of euros in support for airlines, airports were announced in the neighboring states. In Moldova, things stand differently. Amid the pandemic, the Government decided to take 50% of the modernization tax and this was a blow,” stated Rodica Rusu, noting such an action runs counter to the airport concession contract.
According to her, the forecasts are uncertain for now as there are many unknowns. “We are following the forecasts of specialized international institutions. They say the air traffic witnessed several years ago could be restored in two-three years. But the forecasts change depending on how the pandemic is managed domestically and internationally,” said the spokeswoman.
