Where will trade be disrupted in the airport industry from the Ukraine crisis?

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has had large knock-on effects on global trade. Energy prices have spiked, and the sharp rise in wheat has prompted fears of a food crisis.

Although rising energy prices have already had a knock-on effect on many industries, oil, gas, and wheat aren’t the only items traded out of Russia and Ukraine. Many nearby nations will also be feeling direct supply chain disruption in other industries, including the airport industry.

With Ukraine, trade has become more difficult as supply lines have been blocked, and many industries have struggled due to bombings and a lack of labour as people have fled the country or joined the military.

Many countries and companies have also ceased trading with Russia, either due to sanctions or business choices. However, not all countries will have ceased trading.

Not including trade between the two nations, within the aviation manufacturing sector, around 0.1% of global imports of passenger boarding bridges used in airports come from Ukraine.

Looking at global exports to Russia, the most-traded commodities are passenger boarding bridges used in airports (12.1%).

That’s followed by electric or self-propelled vehicles (not fitted with lifting or handling equipment), that are used in airports (2.2%), and non-electric self-propelled vehicles without handling equipment used for short distance transport of goods, and the types of tractors used on railway station platforms (0.9%).

When it comes to the airport industry, the country that has the largest proportion of imports from Ukraine is Qatar (1.3% of the country’s airport industry imports worldwide), followed by United Arab Emirates (0.5%).

From Russia, the countries that import the most are Qatar (12.4%), Armenia (12.4%), and Belarus (7.3%).