For several months now, the pandemic has been raging around the world. There is an economic impact on many sectors and the aviation sector is no exception. Aircraft production is falling, and airlines are slowing down or even stopping their activities.
Airlines had to adapt since the beginning of the pandemic. Indeed, some companies have converted their passenger planes into cargo planes, and even hospital planes. In any case, airlines will be better prepared for the next wave if there is one.
This pandemic is likely to have an impact on the way the aviation system operates. Indeed, now that flights have been drastically reduced, the noise caused by the aircrafts and their pollution has been greatly reduced. We can see the fallout in China or India where the pollution clouds are disappearing. There are also the dwellings near airports that are impacted, some places that in the past were constantly in the noise of takeoffs and landings are now in tranquility.
How will people react at the end of this pandemic, as they have become accustomed to the absence of the harmful effects of flights. This would be the ideal occasion for the introduction of flights on smaller, electric planes. Indeed, these planes could serve more locally and would have the advantage of being cleaner and making less noise. This may be the ideal opportunity for manufacturers to take advantage of.
Drones are already doing a huge service in this crisis. Indeed, they are being used for surveillance to see how people behave during this pandemic while avoiding contact with the public. They are also extremely useful in assisting in the construction of hospitals through models based on photos taken from the sky as well as for the delivery of medical equipment which is crucial during this health crisis. And finally, we can see that the eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) passenger transport could be very useful for the transport of medical personnel. They would no longer have to come into contact with other people and risk being infected.
COVID-19 will definitely change the way the industry looks by changing the way the business operates. It is now that the players active in electric aviation must seize every opportunity, they can to take advantage of in changing the public opinion regarding electric air transport in general.