Why Are Airplanes Still Flying? Should They Be Grounded For Covid-19?
So much has changed in the last few weeks. Many people are hunkered down at home and told only to leave for essential items. Sporting events have been canceled for what feels like years now. Restaurants and bars are ghost towns, besides take out orders of course, and travel has grinded almost completely to a halt. Businesses that never shut their doors have been closed indefinitely, even the casinos in Vegas! All of that has changed but yet airplanes are still flying, sometimes completely empty, and some are left wondering why that is. Should airlines be risking the lives of their employees right now or is it time to ground all passenger planes? Is that even a plausible idea?
Airlines Are Left Without A Choice Right Now
The first point I want to make is that airlines don’t really have a choice in the matter. Per the terms of the CARES act airlines need to continue servicing airports they were already servicing before the pandemic in order to receive the grants. I figured we should get that out of the way first. If they want to receive the bailout they have to continue flying their routes, even if at reduced amounts.
Arguments For Passenger Airplanes Being Grounded
There are a few points or questions I wanted to mention that may lead people to believe that airplanes should be grounded:
- You could still drive your vehicle or rent a car and practice proper social distancing. That is not always possible when flying.
- Is continuing operations is burning through the airline’s cash quicker than not flying at all? Many planes are going out completely empty, 56 in one week on Southwest Airlines alone.
- Workers are getting sick in more alarming numbers as of late. The numbers are now in the hundreds for Southwest & American Airlines.
- Some airlines have allegedly even tried to hide the fact that employees were getting sick.
- Some people are simply not taking things seriously and are taking advantage of historically cheap fares. Flight attendants have implored people to stop taking leisure flights which means some are still doing it.
- Lastly, air travel is the main reason this pandemic went global so quickly. The fastest way to spread the disease to new countries or areas is by having people travel.
Reasons Why Are Airplanes Still Flying
The points listed above are valid and have some meat on the bones but the reasons that planes are still flying trump them in my opinion:
- Passenger planes are also used to transport cargo. And they are sometimes transporting important equipment needed on the front lines. A Boeing 747-700 has enough cargo room to carry two semi trucks full of goods on top of 400+ passengers. Cargo shipments account for 5%-10% of an airlines’ revenue.
- Following up on that point some passenger airlines have actually been transformed into cargo only planes, stocking packages on empty seats etc
- People still require travel to visit loved ones who are seriously ill or that need assistance. And some people are currently stranded away from home and need a way to get home, as you can see in the video I shared yesterday. You also have government officials that may have a pressing need to travel.
- Airlines are a complicated business by nature and have a ton of moving parts. It is not as easy as simply parking the planes at the end of the day and leaving them there. They have to work on moving planes to the proper places and still get their employees home. People and planes are scattered all over the country / world and it would take a massive amount of energy to get everything where it needs to be.
- It is extremely difficult shutting down an airline as well as starting it back up again. It is also very expensive and labor intensive. Brussels Airlines reports that it takes 400 man hours to park each individual plane. That number multiplies quickly when you are talking about hundreds of planes per carrier.
Is There A Middle Ground?
We have discussed some points on why maybe airplanes should be grounded and also some points on why that hasn’t happened. But is there a middle ground that could be found?
Airlines have already been allowed to cut off some routes to smaller airports where larger airports are close by. They have also been lobbying the government to allow them to share routes. Why have two airlines fly the same route when the demand isn’t there for even one airline?
These suggestions make sense but will still take time to implement since schedules are set far in advance and it would take a lot of maneuvering. So even if, or when, the airlines make proactive moves the wheels turn very slowly.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully this gives you some idea of why airplanes are still flying even when most other businesses are shut down. They still provide some essential services, moving much needed cargo and providing people that need emergency travel the option. It is also extremely costly to ground a plane much less an entire fleet. The logistics of shutting down an airline are difficult as well. Does the cost to shut down and restart and airline outweigh the costs to continue running them? That is a question that would need to be answered as well.
Hopefully the airlines and government are able to come up with some efficient alternatives that allow airlines to shed some of their costs while still providing the services needed. The problem is both entities struggle with making quick adjustments.
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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