One of the industries that really struggled throughout the Covid-19 crisis was the aerospace industry. Whilst we were all confined to our homes, people were not travelling for business or their holidays. This demand in air travel has still not even returned to previous levels and the industry is trying its best to recover. We have seen many airlines go under but also many redundancies (or closure) of manufacturing facilities that produce parts for the airline industry. This really has hit the UK (and other parts of the world) hard, and the recovery has been slow.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing for aerospace in the UK is a large employer with large companies such as Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems, Meggitt, GE and Safran all major players in this field. All these companies have survived throughout this however some of them have seen some major reductions in workforce and big hits to their share price. Units such as SFF systems can be manufactured outside the UK but with this comes the normal security process’s that need to be followed to ensure that these are made from reliable sources. It is therefore not easy to lift and lay some of the components manufacture out with the UK. We are now seeing that after some indicative redundancies and slow demand that some of these companies (and others) are now getting lots more orders and increasing the number of employees that they have. This is also reflected in the FTSE100 share price.
Passenger Restrictions
In the UK, all restrictions on Covid-19 are now eliminated and the country has learnt to manage this risk however this is not the same in all countries. For example, in China, they still have a zero Covid-19 policy which still affects passenger travel and quarantine actions associated with this. This is the minority though and some other countries may still ask that you wear a facemask in certain circumstances but that is even now dwelling away. With this in mind, it has now become easier for people to travel between countries, and this has allowed the passenger numbers to now increase month on month. Experts still think we are a few years off before we get too pre-Covid levels however it is continuing to head in the right way.
Important to remain cautious
Although right now, it seems all incredibly positive, it was only a year ago we had a lot of restrictions and important to not become complacent. Things can change very quickly. For example, if a new deadly strain of the Covid-19 virus came about and our vaccinations were not effective against this, there may then be a need to have lockdowns and restrictions again. This seems highly unlikely, but you can never say never. With this in mind, our own personal hygiene and cleanliness remain important to limit the spread of the disease.
Conclusion
Covid 19 affected a lot. It changed the way a lot of industries function and switched goals, but hopefully, now we’re out the other end of it, we can all recover.
