Airline downsizing and failures-why it matters to the construction industry

Although attention will always be on the high-profile names in the airline business, a damaged aviation sector is at risk of hurting those that keep it running and plan for its future successes.

When I first posted a message on LinkedIn to industry colleagues about the coronavirus, I calmly made the assertion that the effects would be sharp, painful but ultimately short-lived. As the weeks have progressed it has become clearer that any recovery in the airport, airline and aerospace sectors will be slow, if not laboursome. Of course, attention at the moment is focused on restarting operations, getting aircraft back in the air and staff back to work but what's more uncertain is the immediate future of many businesses that depend on people and planes moving. While tourism is the obvious candidate, I'm looking elsewhere and longer term.

When Thomas Cook folded in 2019, the business case for additional stand capacity at Bristol Airport evaporated overnight. Construction companies and design consultants put their efforts on the back burner. For when an airline suffers, not only does the airport suffer but architects, engineers and construction firms do too. Staff that were primed for a contract win are suddenly idle. You might say that that is the nature of the business - you win some, you lose some. What if that scenario is replicated not just once, though, but multiple times? Perhaps the reserve project you had earmarked for your employees also followed the same fate.

So, when FlyBe followed the same path as Thomas Cook, alarm bells began to sound in earnest. Airports like Belfast City and Southampton, that depended almost entirely on the airline's business, suddenly had little or no traffic. Any thoughts of capacity expansion or capital investment soon turned to commercial survival. The perfect storm has arisen since the arrival of the coronavirus. With BA now considering making 12,000 staff redundant it should be clear that when an airline suffers, the supply chains suffer too. While the defence sector has traditionally balanced activity out, with governments effectively printing money to keep economies in hibernation, spending reviews are probable and savings are likely to be sought in the medium term.

Inevitably, attention will remain on the high-profile businesses and organisations reducing their footprint but many challenges lie ahead for those that support operations, maintenance and future investment. The question will be, who has the foresight and wherewithal to consider the road ahead?