Airport bonds comprise ~4% of outstanding muni debt1 and have long been a source of incremental yield in insurance company portfolios. While economically sensitive, the sector has proven resilient through prior disruptions including 9/11 and the 2008 financial crisis. Further, a rated municipal airport credit has never defaulted. The Coronavirus pandemic, however, has proven to be as great a challenge to the modern U.S. commercial aviation industry and its infrastructure as any disruption on record. By way of background, municipal airport bonds are usually secured by general operating revenues including airline fees, concessions and rents, parking fees, passenger facilities charges, etc. Airports are typically self-supporting entities that do not rely on general fund revenues of their host cities/metropolitan areas.
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