Carol Lynch, Customs and International Trade Services Partner featured in The Irish Times Special Report on Aviation & Finance.
As the world began to shut down in March 2020, our highways and byways went quiet. So too did the skies, and their piercing blue was no longer criss-crossed with condensation trails. National and international restrictions on travel wreaked financial devastation on the aviation industry.
A recently published McKinsey report confirmed what everybody knew: that all subsectors of the industry, except freight forwarders and cargo airlines, suffered huge losses throughout the pandemic. In 2020 alone, airlines “haemorrhaged” $168 billion (about €159 billion) in economic losses. Aviation has been here before – post 9/11 and during the economic crash, to name just two examples. But as people begin to take to the skies again, what does the future hold for everyone involved in air travel?
There has been a significant increase in repositioning of aircraft for new leases and new sales, says Carol. “This is to be welcomed as it shows the aircraft industry focusing on getting aircraft back in the skies after the Covid years. We are also seeing a lot of new airlines start up in 2022, continuing a trend from 2021,” she says.
With the increase in global security concerns, Carol points out that companies need to be aware of their due diligence requirements when signing up to new leases and also when supplying aircraft parts. “These issues also need to be looked at in contracts,” she says.
Content adapted from The Irish Times.
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