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Although the air transport industry was already experiencing declining and
even negative growth rates due to an economic downturn, the events of 11 September
have sharply magnified this slowdown. The air transport sector employs about
four million persons worldwide, and initial figures indicate that more than
200,000 have lost their jobs or will in the immediate future.
Civil aviation provides both direct and indirect employment to a range of related
sectors. One operational aircraft provides 150 to 250 direct jobs, and there
is one additional indirect job for every direct airline job. Airports, airport
related companies, airline catering companies, air transport equipment manufacturers,
and other companies providing services to these businesses have also been affected
by the crisis. US unions warn that further elimination of in-flight meals by
US airlines would put the jobs of 45,000 workers at risk.
The present crisis in civil aviation is probably the most severe the industry has seen since the end of the Second World War. The ILO Think Tank on the Impact of the 11 September Events for Civil Aviation (Geneva, 29-30 October 2001), stated that the four simultaneous hijackings had a unique, unprecedented, devastating and immediate impact on all segments of the aviation industry.
The events caused the first ever grounding of all civil aircraft in the US.
Eight pilots and twenty-five flight attendants were among more than 3,500 people
who lost their lives.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has increased its forecast
of net industry losses on scheduled international services from about $2.5 billion
to $7 billion for 2001. In addition to this, IATA also predicts a loss of $3-5
billion on US domestic travel.
North American IATA carriers on average had a 33 per cent fall in passenger traffic in October; for European, Far Eastern, Central and South American carriers on average the falls ranged from 20 to 25 per cent.
Airlines have abandoned routes and cut back in the frequency of others, and this has resulted in about 20 per cent of US passenger aircraft being placed in storage and roughly 10 percent worldwide.
Carriers such as Thai Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Philippine Airlines are
each facing debts of more than $2 billion.
The fifty-year-old Brazilian carrier Transbrasil has suspended all flights
because it ran out of money. More than 2,000 employees have received no remuneration
for about three months.
Ansett, Canada 3000, Midway, Sabena and Swissair have all filed for bankruptcy
protection while Air New Zealand has been rescued from insolvency by the New
Zealand government.
Delta Air Lines has made 13,000 workers redundant and trimmed capacity by 15 per cent as it reported a loss of $1 billion in the two weeks following the events.
Based on the experience from the 1990-1991 Gulf War, the current recovery could be very slow. However, it is impossible to predict about the unprecedented events of 11 September. During the Gulf War, airlines realised a catastrophic decline in traffic and cut about 10 percent of their workforce over a period of about one year in a much more regulated industry than today. The current crisis has forced airlines to cut almost 10 per cent of their workforce in three months.
Airlines are making workers redundant since they are losing passengers and revenues. They are also shifting much of their capacity to smaller and more efficient jets while reducing the volume of flights. This crisis will accelerate the restructuring of the airline industry, in which many airlines are expected to consolidate. These consolidations will result in further redundancies. Thousands of air transport workers are now, or will be out of work, creating pressures on governments to provide social and income support. Therefore, more efforts like the ILO’s think tank meeting must be made, to help identify ways to stabilize the industry and to get people working again.
The ILO will discuss the issues further at a Tripartite Meeting on Civil Aviation: Social and Safety Consequences of the Crisis Subsequent to the 11 September Events, to be held in Geneva from 21-25 January 2002.
CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Mr. Marios Meletiou
Transport specialist
Sectoral Activities Branch,
International Labour Office,
4, route des Morillons,
CH-1211 GENEVE 22 -- Switzerland
Tel.: (41.22) 799-7368
Fax: (41.22) 799-7050
e-mail: meletiou@ilo.org or sector@ilo.org
* Authors: Jon Beaulieu, Bert Essenberg