THE EUROPEAN AND GREEK LEGAL FRAMEWORKS 147 The EU tourism industry, which employs around 13 million people, is estimated to be losing around 1 billion euros in revenue per month as a result of the outbreak of COVID-198. The small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)9 most affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic are those in transport due to the demand downfall and then tourism due to the decrease in revenue. Businesses in all branches of the travel and tourism sector are at the forefront of the crisis, and governments all around the world are introducing policy and legal measures to mitigate the economic impact and support recovery of the tourism economy. For the travel and tourism sector, most of the measures taken are financial support, loan guarantees, creation of a new credit line, wage support, deferral of social security contributions, pension payments and tax deferrals (income or VAT). II. AIR TRANSPORT Apart from the economic and commercial impact of the pandemic, the air transport sector faces significant challenges, mostly because governments have implemented flight restrictions as well as travel bans and the airlines are exposed to a huge number of passenger complaints, which fall in the context of Regulation (EC) No. 261/200410 (hereinafter referred to as “Air Passenger Rights Regulation”). Moreover, due to the drop in booking numbers, many airlines have voluntarily reduced the frequency of certain flights, while others, on the one hand, have already been driven into technical bankruptcy or, on the other, are, at least, substantially in breach of debt covenants. Demand is drying up in completely unprecedented ways. Cash reserves are running down quickly as fleets are grounded, and the few existing flights operate much lesser than half-full. Cancellations far outweigh forward bookings, and each time there is a new government recommendation it is to discourage flying. 8 Niestadt Maria, COVID-19 And The Tourism Sector, In: European Parliamentary Research Service Blog, 7 April 2020. Available in: https://epthinktank.eu/2020/04/07/covid-19-and-the-tourism-sector/ (accessed on 27/04/2020). 9 European Commission, Commission Recommendation of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (OJ L 124, 20.5.2003, pp. 36-41). Available in: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/sme-definition_en (accessed on 20/04/2020). 10 Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No. 295/91 (OJ L 46, 17.2.2004, pp. 1-8).
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