Impact of external factors on demand and supply in air transport in 2020-2021

Abstract

The efficient functioning of the air transport system depends on many external factors, such as weather, economic crises, and epidemiological threats. Air operations performed in 2020-2021 at FIR Warszawa were analyzed and compared to 2019. A significant decrease in take-offs and landings was shown. The stability of the transport offer is one of the pillars of the high demand for transport services. Therefore, the legal regulations introduced at that time have been analyzed. Then their impact on the demand and the supply in the aviation market has been assessed. The destructive influence of the activities undertaken in this period on aviation has been demonstrated. Inductive inference on FIR Warszawa data has been carried out. The conclusions have been drawn. Statistics of domestic and international take-offs and landings for regular and non-scheduled flights in Poland in 2019-2021 have been presented. Statistical methods were used to achieve the goal. The analysis of legal acts, regulations, and documents introduced for regulating air operations in the analyzed years, as well as deductive and inductive reasoning, let to indicate and question the legitimacy of the actions taken in this area at that time. The conclusions confirm the thesis by Willie Walsh, former president of the International Airlines Group (IAG), that uncoordinated transport restrictions implemented separately by European countries have created uncertainty in potential passengers and led to losses and deficiencies in bookings in the aviation industry.