The impact of the credit crisis and international events on aviation

The Dutch aviation industry operates internationally, two-thirds of which relies on foreign income to create jobs in the Netherlands. This makes air transport, and air cargo in particular, especially sensitive to international economic cycles, such as the 2008 credit crisis. Aviation also has to contend with events elsewhere in the world that have an impact on air traffic, such as the attacks of 11 September 2001 and the volcanic eruption in Iceland in 2010. In international situations of this kind, air traffic not only has to cope with sudden drops in demand, but, in most cases, also with the surging costs of temporary emergency measures. The credit crisis has had a marked effect on the aviation industry. When it comes to aircraft maintenance, for instance, we have seen aircraft first being rushed off for maintenance only to face delays in the maintenance cycle. In the aircraft construction industry, the impact of the crisis has been unfolding at a slower pace, with order backlogs accumulating over several years.