Covid Grounds Travel Industry

By India Nasheed
Spectrum Editor

The year 2020 was an insane year for pretty much everyone. A novel coronavirus emerged in mid-March causing a worldwide lockdown, killing millions and knocking the global economy to its knees.     

While some businesses thrived during the early days of the pandemic, such as online retailers, video conferencing companies and grocery stores many others struggled to stay afloat, including the travel industry.

Traveling nearly came to a standstill as the virus spread. Airplane tickets were as low as $30 dollars for one way and $70 for a round trip domestic flights. Although this was the case, depending on the state or place one was traveling to they still had to follow all the CDC guidelines and restrictions.

According to CNBC and Flightradar24, a website that tracks flights globally, the average number of commercial flights fell from 100,000 per day in January and February to 78,500 in March and 29,400 in April. This major decrease in air travel caused airlines to run into financial difficulties, and like most business, employers had to start laying off workers or reduced their pay. Most cities and states allow travel, but travelers must show proof of a negative covid-19 test and quarantine once arriving.  

 Due to the pandemic, more than 100 million job were lost, which is nine times worse than the 9/11 attack, according to CNBC. As a result, hotels that relied on business travelers aren’t likely to fully recover until 2023. In August 2020 there was a report stating that hotels were at a risk of foreclosure.

Covid-19 has drastically impacted everyone’s way of life in some way whether it was positive or negative, and the travel industry is trying to find its own way to live with it.