European airline response to the COVID-19 pandemic – Contraction, consolidation and future considerations for airline business and management

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions and fall in consumer demand led to a dramatic and unprecedented reduction in passenger flights across Europe. As borders closed, national Governments advised against all but essential travel and passenger demand disappeared, European airlines were forced to quickly respond to the downturn and impose unprecedented cost saving measures to protect their business. The aim of this paper is to examine the ways in which major European passenger airlines responded to the height of the COVID-19 crisis in the period March – May 2020. Using data from Eurocontrol, the European network manager, the paper identifies the responses individual airline operators and parent companies took to contract and consolidate their operations. The findings show that changes to flight operations, rationalising the fleet, reducing staff numbers, and reconfiguring their networks and capacity were the most common responses. The paper concludes by discussing future considerations for airline business and management as European carriers seek to restructure their operations and adapt to a new post-COVID reality.