Airport Business - 6

INSIDE THE FENCE

Published by

AUTHOR Joe Petrie, Editor-in-Chief

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Fort Atkinson WI 53538
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VOL. 34, NO. 8

A Cold November Rain
NOTHING LASTS forever, but the
deleterious impact of the pandemic
continues to change how the
nation moves (or lack thereof) and
development of the new American air
system is officially too far down the
road to go back.

If you've f lown recently or spent at least 10
minutes inside an airport terminal in the past two
months, you know what I'm talking about. Empty
gates, shuttered concessions and ample parking are
abundant. Fall 2020 is going to be viewed as one of
the most transitional months ever for the industry.
Airports are tackling cleaning and disinfecting.
Seeing leaders and cleaning companies embrace
the change and technology to meet the new
demands after some initial learning curves has been
encouraging. It comes at a cost, so hopefully federal
and local politicos will take a second to buck the
great American tradition of ignoring that fact and
get our airports the funds they need.
But the biggest question might be the future
business model of airports. Yes, people will park
again when this is all done and people will eat and
buy souvenirs. But when? And from whom?
Many concessionaires are taking massive hits from
less travel. Layoffs are abundant as most of them join

the airlines in survival mode. Parking operators are as
well and with the uncertainty of our airlines, PFCs
are not going to be profuse anytime soon.
The innovators in airport facility design see how
the terminal must change for the future because of this
crisis. But with larger airports already implementing
billions in improvements and smaller airports still
seemingly awaiting a remodel to handle changes of
the Airlines Deregulation Act of 1978, I wouldn't
hold my breath for quick action.
Innovation will rule the day going through
and out of this crisis. It's time to think about your
operations as a whole (especially small commercial
airports) and what role general and business aviation
will need to play in the future.
I'm writing this column two weeks before the
Oct. 1 funding cliff awaiting airlines. If we jumped,
I can only image the irreversible changes upending
the industry as you read this. If
we haven't, I can only imagine
the irreversible changes already
in place and how they'll develop
the next year.
There's no going back now.
Hopefully everyone is embracing
this reality.
- Joe

Have a story to tell?
Coming up in the
December/January issue
Cover Story: Passenger Solutions
Airports: Contract Services
FBO Feature: Catering
Special Feature: Security & Safety
Product Focus: Fuel & Fueling Equipment

Contact Joe at joe.petrie@aviationpros.com
6 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / OCTOBER 2020

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Airport Business

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