Coronavirus downdraft has airports scaling back renovation plans

As the coronavirus pandemic stifles air travel, major airports around the world are rethinking plans to spend billions of dollars on new terminals, runways and hotels that could sit empty if demand doesn’t return. San Francisco International Airport is postponing by at least six months a $1b terminal renovation formerly slated to start in June. In Florida, Orlando’s airport authority scaled back an expansion to 15 gates from 19. In London, executives at Heathrow Airport say building a third runway isn’t a priority at the moment, and in New Zealand, Auckland Airport is suspending plans for a new terminal and second runway. Belt-tightening is winning approval from some airlines, which fear such projects could translate into higher fees. “We don’t need a marble floor,” said Holger Blankenstein, executive VP of Volaris, a low-cost carrier in Mexico. Keeping airport fees in check, he said, makes it easier for airlines to offer lower fares. Still, many airports say that it would be expensive to stop a project already under way and that air travel could rebound by the time some expansions are complete. In Australia, work is continuing on a second airport for Sydney, scheduled to open in 2026. Hong Kong International Airport is moving ahead with a new runway. And in Germany, Frankfurt Airport is proceeding with a new terminal. “We are convinced that we will again see long-term growth in air traffic,” Stefan Schulte, executive board chairman of Fraport AG , the publicly traded company that runs the Frankfurt airport, told investors at its recent shareholder meeting. “A new terminal is not built on an outlook of just two or three years, but rather for the decades to come.”<br/>