A Cold November Rain

Nothing lasts forever, but the deleterious impact of the pandemic continues to change how the nation moves (or lack thereof) and development of the new American air system is officially too far down the road to go back.

If you’ve flown recently or spent at least 10 minutes inside an airport terminal in the past two months, you know what I’m talking about. Empty gates, shuttered concessions and ample parking are abundant. Fall 2020 is going to be viewed as one of the most transitional months ever for the industry. 

Airports are tackling cleaning and disinfecting wonderfully. Seeing leaders and cleaning companies embrace the change and technology to meet the new demands after some initial learning curves has been encouraging. It comes at a cost, so hopefully federal and local politicos will take a second to buck the great American tradition of ignoring that fact and get our airports the funds they need.   

But the biggest question might be the future business model of airports. Yes, people will park again when this is all done and people will eat and buy souvenirs. But when? And from whom is a bigger question.

Many of the concessionaires are taking massive hits from less travel. Layoffs are abundant as most of them join the airlines in survival mode at this point. Parking operators are as well and with the uncertainty of our airlines, PFCs are not going to be profuse anytime soon.

The innovators in airport facility design already see how the terminal must change for the future because of this crisis. But with larger airports already implementing billions in improvements and smaller airports still seemingly awaiting a remodel to handle changes of the Airlines Deregulation Act of 1978, I wouldn’t hold my breath for quick action.  

Innovation will rule the day going through and out of this crisis; and not just for your contracted service providers. It’s time to think about your operations as a whole (especially small commercial airports) and what role general and business aviation will need to play in the future to serve your community.

I’m writing this column two weeks before the Oct. 1 funding cliff awaiting airlines. If we jumped, I can only image the irreversible changes that have upended the industry as you read this. If we haven’t, I can only imagine the irreversible changes already in place and how they’ll develop the next six months.

 There’s no going back now and hopefully everyone in the industry is embracing this reality.