COVID-19 impacts on general aviation – comparative experiences, governmental responses and policy imperatives

This article catalogues experiences of the general aviation sector as it progressively encountered the challenges of COVID-19 in the early part of 2020. The article focuses primarily on the Australian marketplace as a contribution to the body of knowledge in an under-researched industry sector. The article draws on literature pertaining to prior pandemic experience to enquire about the level of precursory preparedness in the sector, and then utilises data from 12 semi-structured interviews with experienced industry participants locally and internationally. The key findings suggest that there has been a lack of applied learning by policy makers in the past, and that generic support on offer now does not address the long term resilience of the sector nor does it address a pathway for future sudden moments of dislocation. Policies which purport to support aviation should be crafted in a way that engages all levels of industry rather than be airline centric