2010-2011: Tough times for Airline and Tourism Industry

The start of the year 2011 proves quite disturbing for many airlines as in the very beginning, the political unrest in Egypt followed by the same in Libya and Bahrain have cost billions to the national carries of the states as well as other airline flying to/from or via the affected countries.

Flights to Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Sharm el-Sheikh remained non-operational for a long while during the political tensions. Also, at present Libya is nearly close to becoming a no-fly zone, affected flights to Tripoli and onward connections to other African cities including but not limited to Johannesburg flights, Cape Town, Durban, Entebbe, Lagos, Accra, Nairobi, Harare, Botswana and many interlined African destinations.

Here it is important to recall that the end of the year 2010, when most airlines were expecting their peak season to earn and cover any lost during the first three quarters of the year, unfortunately, the world was surprised by weather adversaries. The December last year is claimed to be the coldest December is more than a 100 years in the history of Europe. Major UK airports including London Heathrow, Manchester and London Gatwick Airports remained closed. Among the airlines flying from London Gatwick, Afriqiyah Airways and Air Zimbabwe had most flights cancelled in the season.

Not to forget, the airline and technical staff strike in Ireland, Spain and UK that affected Iberia Airline, British Airways, Aerolineas Argentinas, Finn Air and many others on the list.

However, the bad luck for the airline industry continued on in 2011, the Earth Quake in Christchurch New Zealand disrupted flights to and from Auckland. Also, the Queensland flooding in Australia smashed the infrastructure and caused FCO to release Travel Warnings against all but essential to book cheap flights to Australia now.

The most recent is the ongoing crises in Japan. Followed by a massive 9 magnitude earthquake and 10-meter high tsunami waves, the country’s Nuclear Plant Radiation Leak is forcing airlines to cancel their flights to and from Tokyo.

Considering the above loses as well as taking into account the escalating tensions in Bahrain, a fuel hike is one possible outcome. This altogether will contribute in tax and base fares hikes as well. Thought its too early to speculate, but this summer flight ticket prices are expected to go higher than usual. However, advance flight reservations as those made nowadays will be rewarding.