Andalusia's largest source of income stems from the high number of tourists traveling to the Costa del Sol each year who land at Malaga airport. The latest figures indicate that the Coronavirus leaves Malaga airport without passengers, suffering a 82% drop in October to 330,000 passengers compared to 1.8 million during the same period last year.
During the month of August, more than 2 million passengers usually land at the Costa del Sol airport; this year it was 70% less. In September, only 366,000 passengers were recorded representing a decrease to the tune of 82%.
Although Coronavirus leaves Malaga airport without passengers, the same can be said for the rest of Spain. The majority of airports in the peninsula experienced a huge drop in passengers of around 80%. Only the Canary Islands are an exception to the rule with a less significant decrease of approximately 50%. Airports throughout the country are suffering enormously. Their many shops and restaurants are closed until further notice. Most of their employees were sent home on government furlough schemes.
The whole of Spain has been hit hard by COVID-19. Virtually every region is still on high alert, except for the Canary Islands and the north-eastern province of Galicia. Everywhere in the country, strict restrictions have been put in place which have led to a positive change of tendency in the curve of infections. This is of course good news, but unfortunately it is still far from sufficient to be able to lift the current restrictions. In Andalusia, there is currently a stay-home order between 22:00 and 07:00. Said restrictions are currently in place until December 10th.
The Coronavirus crisis has left a profound mark on the local economy. In the third quarter, the unemployment pool rose by 143,800 people. A further loss of 200 to 300,000 jobs is expected in the region by the end of 2020. According to the INE (Spanish Institute of Statistics), the total number of people who have lost their jobs throughout Spain during the pandemic represents some 355,000 people. It is to be noted that Andalusia alone accounted for 40% of new unemployed in the third quarter.
Recently, the pharmaceutical group Pfizer informed the world that their vaccine is on its way showing exceptional trial results. Pfizer affirms that their vaccine works in 90% of all cases, which is surprisingly good news. The other good news is that Spain is due to receive 20 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer 2021. This has been confirmed by Spain's Health Minister Salvador Illa. This will hopefully help the country's airports again, reactivate tourism and boost the economy.
