The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the economies of ASEAN and the relevance of hub airports in the region. The future relevance of these airports will be shaped by the passenger and cargo flows across the region and the airline strategies to service the demand.
The Aviation Studies Institute (ASI) has commissioned Sobie Aviation with an analysis of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the relevance of hub airports in the ASEAN region and how this may change in the post-pandemic environment. The purpose is to provide recommendations for ASEAN airports (their operators and regulators) to leverage the region’s strengths as the industry emerges from the pandemic.
The work incorporates the latest information available from 2021 and as recent as January 2022. It complements ASI’s research into the concept of ‘Airport-Centrality’ – how the relevance of airport hubs is influenced by different schedule-related factors that affect passenger booking behaviours.
Number of International and Domestic Routes at ASEAN Airports
Key Findings
- ASEAN connectivity will become increasingly important as ASEAN hub airports emerge from the pandemic.
- ASEAN connectivity is the competitive advantage that ASEAN hub airports have over hubs in other regions and is critical for driving overall growth in the post-pandemic era.
- ASEAN airports should diversify and reduce their reliance on the Chinese market as the ASEAN-China market will be slow to recover and may never recover fully.
- ASEAN hub airports should focus on restoring and subsequently expanding its connectivity in ASEAN, particularly secondary destinations.
- Several major ASEAN airlines do not have smaller gauge aircraft, which could make it difficult to improve connectivity to secondary destinations in ASEAN.
- ASEAN airline restructurings and possible consolidation could impact traffic flows at hubs as some of the region’s major airlines downsize but any void is likely to be filled by other airlines that are expanding and new airlines that are launching.
• ASEAN connectivity will become increasingly important as ASEAN hub airports emerge from the pandemic.
• ASEAN connectivity is the competitive advantage that ASEAN hub airports have over hubs in other regions and is critical for driving overall growth in the post-pandemic era.
• ASEAN airports should diversify and reduce their reliance on the Chinese market as the ASEAN-China market will be slow to recover and may never recover fully.
• ASEAN hub airports should focus on restoring and subsequently expanding its connectivity in ASEAN, particularly secondary destinations.
• Several major ASEAN airlines do not have smaller gauge aircraft, which could make it difficult to improve connectivity to secondary destinations in ASEAN.
• ASEAN airline restructurings and possible consolidation could impact traffic flows at hubs as some of the region’s major airlines downsize but any void is likely to be filled by other airlines that are expanding and new airlines that are launching.
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