Aviation Industry Warned Climate Pressures Will Reshape Travel Patterns

RIMINI, Italy—Airlines and airports are beginning to factor climate resilience more directly into network planning and growth strategies as extreme weather, changing travel patterns and environmental pressures increasingly affect aviation operations and leisure demand.

That was the message from speakers during a panel discussion at the Tourism Seasonality Summit held ahead of Routes Europe 2026 in Rimini, Italy, where aviation and tourism executives said climate adaptation is becoming a growing commercial and operational issue for the industry.

Panelists argued that while aviation sustainability discussions have largely focused on emissions reduction and sustainable aviation fuel, airlines and airports must now also prepare for the practical impacts of climate change on networks, infrastructure and passenger demand patterns.

Debbie Hindle, chair of the International Center for Responsible Tourism Global (ICRT Global), said the industry needs to place greater emphasis on understanding the operational risks climate change poses to destinations, infrastructure and local communities.

“The thing that frightens me is when I hear a destination or a company say, ‘I don’t have a problem with seasonality, I don’t have a problem with overtourism, I don’t have a problem with water,’” Hindle said. “You don’t now—but what’s your risk for the future?”

Panelists said climate-related disruption is already beginning to influence destination competitiveness, seasonal traffic flows and operational planning across Europe’s aviation market.

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Leslie Vella, president of the Malta Tourism Authority, said Malta has been using environmental and tourism data to assess how rising temperatures, sea-level changes and weather volatility could affect tourism demand and the island’s aviation sector over the longer term.

“We turned this inside out,” Vella said. “Instead of only measuring tourism’s impact, we started asking how tourism is being impacted.”

Vella said Mediterranean destinations could face increasing operational challenges from prolonged heatwaves, water scarcity and infrastructure pressures—all of which may ultimately influence airline capacity deployment and seasonality patterns.

The discussion also highlighted growing concerns about how climate change could reshape traditional leisure travel seasons. Airlines and airports have spent years trying to extend shoulder-season demand, but panelists suggested climate conditions may increasingly alter traveler behavior and destination choice.

Lynn Donnelly, senior sustainable growth manager at VisitScotland, said Scotland is already seeing climate-related impacts on winter tourism and coastal attractions.

“We’re seeing more storms, less snow in the Cairngorms and coastal erosion,” Donnelly said. “Everything that makes Scotland so special is being impacted by climate change.”

VisitScotland is now working with destinations to diversify tourism products away from snow-dependent operations toward year-round outdoor activities, reflecting wider industry efforts to build more resilient traffic flows.

Tour operator easyJet holidays said weather reliability is becoming increasingly important to customer satisfaction and destination performance. “When the weather falls below expectations, that’s when we start to see a drop in satisfaction,” said Scott Lawson, senior ESG manager at easyJet holidays.

Although airlines have not yet seen large-scale shifts away from traditional Mediterranean summer markets, panelists suggested changing climate conditions could gradually influence future network planning decisions, particularly for highly seasonal leisure operators.

“What we can’t do is business as usual,” Hindle said. “We can’t just do what we’ve always done and assume that the customers will be there for us in the same way.”