Air transport is at the epicentre of many socio-economic benefits linked to the development of regions. Without aviation, it would be virtually impossible to envisage a society with the welfare we enjoy today.
Aviation is one of the most global and most influential in the world economy. It has the ability to connect people and businesses on every continent, and is arguably the greatest exponent of globalisation. It has maintained steady growth over the last fifteen years, although it is currently suffering severely from the setback caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, it has survived previous crises and has proven its long-term resilience. This has made it an indispensable means of transport and a major influence in the socio-economic development of the regions.
Aviation generates economic growth, creates jobs and facilitates international trade and tourism.. Its contribution to global GDP was almost €2.5 trillion in 2018 and it generated more than 65 million jobs. In addition, aviation has a decisive influence on other jobs or economic activities that flourish when businesses or industries exist, as air travel makes this possible through the intrinsic value provided by the speed and connectivity of air transport, or through the tourism and domestic trade generated.
The direct and indirect impacts of air transport related activities are easily identifiable and quantifiable. However, there are other types of impacts (so-called induced and catalytic) that require specific analysis to be properly valued. Although their value may vary according to the methodology used, what is really important is that, objectively, they show the major impact of aviation activity on the economy of the regions around the airports.
One of the sectors that relies most heavily on aviation is, as we have already mentioned, the tourism. Last year 2019, approximately 1.5 billion tourists crossed borders and more than half of them travelled to their destinations by air. That year, aviation supported more than 40 million jobs in the tourism sector and contributed approximately €800 billion to global tourism GDP.
A very clear example of this was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when global air transport came to a standstill and, with it, all but strictly local tourism activities came to a standstill.
Air transport is also a driver for global trade and e-commerce, as it has enabled the globalisation of production. Last year, just over 58 million tonnes were transported by air. Small volumes of air cargo correspond to high values in world trade. While in terms of weight transported it accounts for no more than 0.5%, it represents 35%of world trade in terms of value. The advantage of aviation over other modes of transport in terms of speed and reliability has also contributed to the market for express delivery services (closely linked to e-commerce) and the urgent transport of goods. Currently, around 86% of goods deliveries obtained through e-commerce are transported by air at some stage.
Indeed, no one can doubt that the aviation sector is a generator of wealth and welfare. It is not only the economic income from the tickets of the millions of passengers who flew last year, but also the services offered to these millions of passengers at any airport (catering, shops, car rental, security, etc.). Its impact also includes the salaries of the more than 20 million people who work directly at airports or in the aviation sector, the cargo transported between remote corners of the planet or travel agencies, to give a few specific examples.
In this infographicsWe outline the economic impact of aviation and the multiplier effect in its areas of influence.
