BELFAST International Airport forecast a £22 million hit to its revenues in 2020 even before the impact of the second wave of Covid-19, an in-depth report on its finances has revealed.
Modelling produced by the company in June predicted turnover for the 12 months ending December 31 2020 would be down by 46 per cent on the £48.2m it recorded in 2019.
Belfast International’s board also forecast back in June that the airport would lose around three million passengers as a result of the fallout from Covid-19.
But the airport, which normally caters for 6.3 million passengers per year, will likely lose more than four million passengers after key airlines including Easyjet and Ryanair pulled services in the latter half of the year.
The growing number of airline travellers in recent years has directly transferred into rising profits for the airport’s French owners Vinci, who bought the business in mid-2018.
Operating profits climbed from £7.5m in 2018 to £8.6m in 2019.
It saw the company pay a dividend of £5.7m to its shareholders in 2019.
But the devastating impact of Covid-19 on the aviation and tourism industries has left the airport pleading with Stormont for financial support in the winter of 2020.
That came in the form of a £7.8m package announced last week for both Belfast City and Belfast International airports.
Belfast International boss Graham Keddie described it as a lifeline.
But the airport continues to face significant financial challenges.
A £30m loan it took out in 2016 to refinance its debt is due for repayment in 2023.
The airport’s board said the impact of Covid-19 on its cash-flow will likely result in a breach of financing arrangements with its lender, AIB.
That could open the door for the bank to demand repayment on demand, but the directors anticipate that such a breach may be waived in the circumstances.
Alternative options have been investigated, including financing from other commercial lenders or through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme. That latter has now been extended until the end of January 2021.
Another potential issue on the horizon for the business is the growing pension deficit for its retirement benefit scheme.
The deficit stood at £4.9 in 2018, but grew to £13.6m last year as a result of a fall in the market value of the assets of the scheme, coupled with rising liabilities.
