While economic cycles and international events have direct repercussions on air transport organisations, the effects on the aviation industry are quite different.
Aircraft maintenance
In the aircraft maintenance sector, a decline in air transport movements initially leads to the exact opposite: a temporary increase in the maintenance workload. This can be attributed to the fact that it is efficient for airlines to carry out maintenance and modifications when the aircraft does not generate any revenue. But, if the crisis persists, the workload will fall below the normal level. This is to say that, in a prolonged crisis, an initial peak in workload will always be followed by a lengthy period of reduced workload
Another effect exacerbated by the crisis is the relocation of labour-intensive aircraft maintenance work (including what is known as the D check) to low-wage countries in Asia.
Aircraft construction
The crisis has also had an impact on aircraft construction: the number of orders placed by airlines has fallen due to reduced growth in air traffic, among other factors. Aircraft orders are usually placed years before actual production and delivery, which usually causes this decline to become noticeable only after several years. For the Dutch aviation industry, a decline in production of only a few aircraft a year translates to several tens of millions of euros in lost income due to falling supply.
In addition to civil aircraft orders, the Dutch aircraft industry also has a portfolio of Ministry of Defence orders. But the crisis has led to a drop in government spending and this effect, too, was immediately felt.