Financial sustainability of European air navigation service providers and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This study examines the financial resilience of European Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) before and after the COVID-19 shock. Using a balanced panel dataset covering 2017– 2023 for over 30 ANSPs, we employ fixed-effects estimators to quantify changes in key financial metrics—revenue, operating costs, capital expenditures, and free cash flow—once air traffic volumes collapsed. Our findings reveal a pronounced downturn in profitability and liquidity in 2020, followed by uneven recovery trajectories across providers. We also identify factors—such as pre-pandemic leverage and cost structure—that moderated the depth of the shock. These insights contribute to crisis-management literature in aviation finance and offer policy implications for bolstering sectoral sustainability against future disruptions.