• The Board of ERA (European Regions Airline Association), representing 52 European airlines and 148 industry businesses, convened via conference call to discuss the serious health and economic impacts the COVID-19 crisis is having on the aviation industry.
• The ERA Board agreed that it is vital for all European governments to act urgently and decisively to tackle the effects of this pandemic and to provide a financial lifeline to airlines.

As the world adapts to the effects of COVID-19, so too has the ERA Board, whose members from across the European aviation industry gathered online today to discuss the role of the association in managing the key issue affecting ERA’s members and the wider European aviation industry, namely COVID-19.

The ERA Board comprises skilled and influential representatives from the entire aviation supply chain, including airlines, airports, manufacturers, suppliers and aviation service providers, working on behalf of the association’s members to protect the interests of Europe’s aviation sector. ERA is the collective voice of the European aviation industry and it is through the support of the ERA Board that the association continues to ensure the needs of the aviation community are protected to ensure the industry’s very survival during these unprecedented times.

The ERA Board would like to convey its sincere sympathies and condolences to those who have passed away due to COVID-19 or been affected by the disease, in all countries and communities as well as those represented by ERA members. The ERA Board representatives also send their best wishes to all ERA members, their staff and families and to all those fighting this pandemic. A special thanks, and recognition, is sent to all medical staff acting globally, the real heroes fighting this invisible disease.

Montserrat Barriga, Director General, ERA commented: “The COVID-19 outbreak is not just a public health crisis, it’s an economic emergency that is already having a substantial effect on our industry. Airlines are struggling and given the enormous cut in passenger revenues for the summer months ahead, this is not going to change any time soon. We need to ensure a comprehensive basket of relief measures are made available to the aviation industry, and that best practices are implemented across countries. Now is the time that the European Commission, member states and their governments must act, to provide the financial support needed to secure the very survival of our industry and Europe’s future economic growth and connectivity.”