FBOs continue to face a pandemic shaking the foundation upon which the FBO industry stands.

Since our last blog post in May, there have been reports of positive progress in dealing with the virus outbreak, but, in the United States, the gains may be short-lived.

Going into June, many states started to open businesses according to government-issued guidelines. Early reports of increased business aircraft flight activity have been encouraging. Part 135 charter operators and fractional aircraft owner programs both reported higher than anticipated demand for their services. Customers were seeking an alternative to crowded commercial airline terminals and the close mingling of strangers in the confined space of a commercial airline cabin environment.

Now, as June ends with a series of the highest daily totals of new cases of infection, a COVID-19 resurgence has some states, such as Texas and Florida, backtracking their business re-opening plans. In fact, some states have considered restricting airline traffic coming from states with increased COVID-19 case activity. Is business aircraft traffic next to be scrutinized?

This start-and-stop pattern will undoubtedly have a boomerang effect on the FBO industry.