Coronavirus: passenger traffic down 50% at Daytona International – News – Daytona Beach News-Journal Online

Following the coronavirus pandemic, passenger traffic is down 50% at Daytona Beach International Airport, said Rick Karl, director of the airport.

DAYTONA BEACH – The impact of the coronavirus on the global travel industry is hitting hard at Daytona Beach International Airport, which is seeing a 50% reduction in passenger traffic, said Rick Karl, director of the airport.

"It's based on what we collect from local station managers," said Karl on Wednesday. "We are collecting the information right now. This is a changing situation and we will not be able to fully assess the impact for about a week."

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Delta Air Lines has canceled a flight to Daytona Beach, said Karl. In addition, Canadian carrier Sunwing Airlines has suspended all southbound flights, including the routes to Daytona Beach, said Karl.

The Canadian airline began its bi-weekly flights from Toronto in January 2019.

Because the airline only offers seasonal weekly service, the suspension of Sunwing will not be a blow to the airport, said Karl. However, it will hurt local hotels that have benefited from the bookings of tourist groups associated with the flights, he said.

In response to the pandemic, the airport is also suspending its ambassador program, a volunteer program that primarily involves seniors, said Karl. Participants offer information and other forms of assistance to travelers.

"We are doing it as a precaution," said Karl of the program's closure. "No one has fallen ill to my knowledge. These volunteers are very important to us and they do a great job. I thought it was an unnecessary risk, especially with the reduction in passenger traffic that we will see . "

The drop in passenger numbers at Daytona Beach reflects a global business crisis in the travel industry.

Delta Air Lines announced the deepest service cuts in its history amid the travel implosion due to the coronavirus crisis.

The carrier will reduce its capacity by 40% in the coming months, an even deeper reduction than that following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, according to CEO Ed Bastian. The movement will involve 300 planes on the ground.

The airline also announced a 30-day cut in flights to continental Europe, with the exception of London. The leaders warned that the theft cuts could last longer.

The measures taken by Delta are part of a series of flight reductions, hiring freezes and cost reduction measures in the air transport industry, undermined by the travel restrictions implemented by the governments and health care officials around the world.

American said it would reduce international seat capacity by 10% this summer, including a 55% reduction in flights across the Pacific. The airline suspends flights to China until the end of October, she said.

In addition, American will cut flights within the United States by 7.5% for the month of April.

United cuts its international calendar by 20%, notably in China and Hong Kong, and by 10% in the United States.

"Delta and American and United, all the major carriers, are just hiding, trying to see where they can cut costs," said Karl. "They reduce all the levels."

Karl said it is not yet clear what the final impact of these drastic reductions could possibly mean in terms of reduced working hours or reduced staff at the airport managed by the county.

"We will be there to serve the traveling public and the airlines as long as necessary," said Karl. "We are not taking any action that would reduce our service."

At the moment, the airport is doing its best to continue "as usual," said Karl, but additional measures have been taken to improve sanitation procedures and comply with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, he said.

"We have instituted additional operational cleaning procedures to wipe vehicles used for airport services," said Karl. "We are working on a process to determine who can work from home if necessary, which essential team is.

"Once we have an idea of ​​what passenger traffic will be, we will assess the personnel requirements from there," he said.