European airlines are bracing for the ‘worst winter ever’

Eurocontrol traffic figures for 20 October 2020 were down 61.2% compared to 2019, but 95% down for Brussels Airlines

Eurocontrol Director General Eamonn Brennan today (21 October) published a graph on Twitter showing that, due to COVID-19, Eurocontrol network traffic yesterday (20 October) was 61.2% down on 2019, with just 12,221 flights.

The drop in traffic varies widely with the airlines, from -17% for Wideroe to -95% for El Al and Brussels Airlines.

Lufthansa is at -76%, but Germany-based aviation journalist Andreas Spaeth was told by industry sources that the situation at the airline is perceived as so desperate that the management was considering stopping flying altogether for the winter months. It turned out that re-starting would have been even more expensive than keeping flying small passenger volumes.

From one week to another, Ryanair cut 24% of flights vs. Tuesday last week.