By Chris Caraveo
Twitter: @ChrisCaraveo31

Airline travel saw a massive decline in March due to the coronavirus, and Phoenix Sky Harbor officials don’t expect to get back to record breaking numbers until around 2023.

According to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, nearly 2.4 million total passengers flew into and out of the airport in March — over 1.2 million outbound and nearly 1.2 million inbound. That is a dramatic decrease from the 4.5 million total passengers in March 2019. Total landings were also down at Sky Harbor by about 2,000 — or 11%.

Last year, the airport served a record breaking 46.3 million passengers.

“This is expected to be the most severe shock to the aviation business and Sky Harbor that we have ever experienced,” Heather Shelbrack, public information manager, stated in an email. “Our current modeling is forecasting that sometime around 2023, we should return to our record 2019 passenger numbers.”

With travel restrictions likely to be lifted softly over the next several months, airports officials continue to stay in close contact with county, state, and federal health officials and will follow their direction regarding health and safety policies.

Sky Harbor continues to maintain a thorough 24-hour cleaning schedule, having increased the number of times per day employees sanitized high-touch areas.

“This will continue as needed,” Ms. Shelbrack stated.

The situation facing the airline industry has grown more dire since the first quarter ended. Air travel within the U.S. has plunged 95% from a year ago, judging by the number of people screened at the nation’s airports, according to The Associated Press.

In an email to the Daily Independent, Scott Elmore, vice president of communications and marketing at Airports Council International-North American, says passenger traffic from April to June is estimated to drop by about 85% due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This steep and sudden drop is impacting the air travel industry extremely hard,” he stated. “When faced with a sudden and massive health care crisis, airports took swift and early action to protect employees and the traveling public — that included implementing increased sanitation standards at airports across the country. But even with those immediate measures, our industry continues to experience extreme financial losses. In total, we are estimating a loss of up to $23 billion as a result of this crisis.”

What airlines are doing

Several airlines that serve Phoenix Sky Harbor have adjusted their policies and travel capacities in wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. Each is in their own unique position in handling the situation.

American Airlines

American Airlines, which usually serves the most passengers of all airlines at Phoenix Sky Harbor, had a 46.6% decrease in passengers through the airport in March 2020 — just under 1.1 million — vs March 2019 — a few hundred shy of 2 million.

The airline has suspended more than 60% of international capacity for the peak summer travel season versus the same period last year, according to a release.

The airline has had to delay the launch of new routes and winter seasonal service into 2021. It also suspended 25 total summer seasonal flights until summer 2021.

Service from Phoenix Sky Harbor to London Heathrow Airport will resume in early October, according to the release.

As for health and safety, masks will be required for flight attendants during every mainline and regional flight beginning Friday, May 1. Customers will be required to start wearing masks on May 11, according to an email.

In addition, the airline added a drawer in the galley on every mainline flight containing personal protective equipment, including masks for flight attendants and pilots, and other sanitizing items.

In early May, American will start the process of distributing sanitizing wipes or gels and face masks to customers. The offering will expand to all flights as supplies and operational conditions allow, according to a release.

American is also planning for more thorough cleaning, using a disinfectant approved by the Environmental Protection Agency and includes:

In customer areas, tray tables, seatbelt buckles, armrests, window shades and seatback screens. It also includes wiping door and overhead bin handles.
In team member areas, enhanced galley cleaning, jumpseats and crew rest seats. The new enhancements add cockpit surfaces as well.

American reported a loss of $2.24 billion for the first quarter, with revenue falling 19% while costs continued to rise, according to The Associated Press.

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, which saw a 44.9% decrease in total passengers at Sky Harbor in March, updated its guidelines to require all employees and partners to wear masks or face coverings when unable to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet between others.

In addition, officials are also strongly encouraging customers to wear masks, and are making them available at ticket counters, at gates and on board.

Aircraft is expected to be fogged before every flight in Delta’s network by early May. The disinfectant used in fogging is safe to breathe and is like what hospitals and restaurants use to sanitize, according to Delta.

The airline will continue to offer hand sanitizer at various touchpoints, while disinfecting surfaces across the airport experience, including employee work spaces like lounges and break rooms.

“Our extensive ‘Delta Clean’ initiative that began on April 1 is a change that is not limited to the length of this pandemic,” stated Drake Castañeda with Corporate Communications at Delta. “Our customers expect and deserve the highest standard of clean when they travel and this improvement was made with that in mind.”

Delta has also made significant capacity reductions for the June quarter versus the prior year, with total system capacity down 85%, including domestic down by 80 and international capacity down by 90%, Mr. Castañeda stated in an email.

The airline is also parking more than 650 aircraft and accelerated the already-planned retirement of its MD-88 and MD-90 fleet, which was announced Thursday, April 30.

Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines, which serves the second most passengers through Sky Harbor, saw a 54% decrease in passengers at the airport in March 2020 — under 685,000 — from March 2019 — nearly 1.5 million.

On April 28, the airline released its first quarter 2020 results, showing a net loss of $94 million. First quarter operating revenues went down 17.8% year-over-year, according to the report.

“This is an unprecedented time for our Nation and the airline industry,” Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board and CEO, stated in the quarterly report. “In late February, we began experiencing a precipitous drop in passenger demand and bookings due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a first quarter 2020 net loss. The U.S. economy has been at a standstill, and the current outlook for second quarter 2020 indicates no material improvement in air travel trends.”

Southwest ended its first quarter 2020 with 742 aircraft in its fleet, according to the report. In response to capacity reductions due to COVID-19, the airline now has about 350 aircraft in long-term storage or temporary parking. That’s in addition to the 34 MAX aircraft that were grounded as of March 13, 2019 to comply with a Federal Aviation Administration emergency order for all U.S. airlines to ground MAX aircraft.

Southwest continues to spend over six hours each day cleaning aircraft. The airline also expanded the use of the hospital-grade disinfectant throughout the aircrafts, and are using it in the cabin, on elements in the flight deck, and in the restrooms.

As of March 30, roughly 1,500 flights a day were being removed from operation, dropping down to more than 2,000 daily, according to a release.

“As we look toward navigating the future of travel together, airports will continue to work with their travel partners, including airlines and relevant government agencies, to establish and implement best practices to ensure the health and safety of passengers, workers and everyone else who passes through these facilities,” Scott Elmore with the ACI-NA stated. “Airports will extend their enhanced sanitation standards for the foreseeable future and make adjustments to other standards and practices as needed while we adapt to the new normal in travel together.”