Login

Lost your password?

Sign Up

Register

Login

Login

Lost your password?

Register

Monday, August 15, 2022
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion

Africa's
Investment
Gateway

The Exchange
  • Login
  • Register
Subscribe
This Month's Edition
Previous Editions
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Exchange
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
The Exchange
LOGIN
Opening.African.Skies

Opening.African.Skies

Opening up air transport in Africa best bet for tourism, trade

IATA projects that the full-year 2020 traffic is expected to plummet by 54 per cent which is more than 80 million passenger journeys compared to 2019.

by Njenga Hakeenah
September 4, 2020
in Aviation
0
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

The latest projections by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show that the African aviation industry will need more than goodwill to weather the turbulence created by global pandemic. 

IATA projects that the full-year 2020 traffic is expected to plummet by 54 per cent which is more than 80 million passenger journeys compared to 2019. Previous estimates in April predicted that the fall would be 51 per cent but three months later, the future is looking even bleaker. 

The drop could translate into job losses in aviation and related industries which could increase by more than half of the region’s 6.2 million aviation-related employment.  

“Job losses in aviation and related industries could increase by up to 3.5 million. That is more than half of the region’s 6.2 million aviation-related employment and 400,000 more than the previous estimate,” notes IATA in its latest update issued this month. 

As a result, the continent’s GDP supported by aviation could fall by up to US$35 billion, a notable increase from the previous estimated US$28 billion decline. 

Muhammad Al Bakri, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East says that the pandemic has brought air connectivity across the continent to a virtual standstill. This has, in turn, devastated African economies with the situation worsening by the day.  

Also Read: Africa’s GDP supported by aviation could fall to $35bn

“The economic consequences resulting from a disconnected continent are severe. Millions of jobs and livelihoods are at risk in family-run enterprises and large corporations along the entire travel and tourism value chain. For Africa’s economic recovery and future prosperity, it is essential to expedite the safe restart of the industry,” said Bakri. 

To pacify the situation and minimize the impact on jobs and the broader African economy, IATA proposes that governments prioritise harmonizing the restart of air transport on the continent and step up efforts to support the industry. 

IATA is advocating the harmonized adoption of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council’s Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) Take-off guidance. This is the global biosafety framework for the safe restart of aviation which is critical for the safe resumption of air transport. 

In addition, countries must avoid conflicting measures, disruptions and inefficiencies by applying these recommendations consistently and uniformly, without imposing unnecessary border constraints such as quarantines, which deter passengers and suppress the demand for air travel. 

Rwanda is the first country in Africa to fully comply with ICAO’s biosecurity recommendations. 

On the other hand, governments can help revive the industry by financially supporting it.  “Continued financial and regulatory support, particularly financial relief– that does not increase industry debt levels — through direct cash injections, credit or loans and deferrals or discounts on user charges are essential to support airlines over the restart and recovery period,” notes IATA. 

Rwanda, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Cabo Verde are the only African countries that have provided relief to the aviation industry so far which, according to IATA, has helped save thousands of jobs and will enable some airlines to restart and support the wider economies they serve. 

Also read: Pandemic brings aviation and tourism industries to their knees

On opening borders and facilitating smooth travel, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) notes that almost all African countries have differing degrees of suspending international flights, introduced 14-day quarantine for entrants into the country and closing land or maritime borders. 

While Africa could fare much better trading within itself, ECA notes that intra-African exports started to decline a month after Africa’s exports to the rest of the world declined. 

In just one month from March 2020, the decline grew from 1 per cent to 17 per cent in April 2020.  “The impact of the significant drop in intra–African exports was felt in April 2020, following the enforcement of African lockdowns, travel bans and Covid-19 border regulations in March 2020,” notes ECA. 

For Africa, the silver lining is in the fact that intra–African exports have been more resilient to the twin Covid-19 and commodity price shock, than Africa’s exports to the rest of the world have been, according to ECA. 

As such, there is an urgent importance of further developing competitive and diversified intra-African value chains. 

While the pandemic has been a global threat, cross-border trade disruptions, including such factors as a slowdown in demand, declining commodity prices, supply chain blockages, increased freight costs and export bans, are likely to have played a role in Africa’s slowdown in trade. 

With this knowledge, it is advisable that Africa becomes more accessible to itself than it has been for decades. Bringing down the barriers of travel will play a key role in ensuring that global shocks do not hit the continent as much. 

Opening the skies will be a good place to start. 

 Also Read: Africa’s GDP supported by aviation could fall to $35bn

Tags: aviationCivil Aviation Organization (ICAO)International Air Transport Association (IATA)Investing in the aviation sectorpremium

STATE OF ECONOMY - GET THE REPORT

ASSESSING EAST AFRICA

Loading...

Njenga Hakeenah

I have 10 years of experience in multimedia journalism and I use the skills I have gained over this time to meet and ensure goal-surpassing editorial performance. Africa is my business and development on the continent is my heartbeat. Do you have a development story that has to be told? Reach me at [email protected] and we can showcase Africa together.

Related Posts

An Airbnb property. The company defied the pandemic to quadruple revenues to US$2.2 billion in 2021. www.theexchange.africa
Africa

Airbnb defies pandemic to quadruple revenues to US$2.2 billion

January 6, 2022
Kenya Airways PLC (KQ) implementing contactless transactions
Aviation

KQ in Code sharing Deal with Italian Airline to Expand Market Access

December 24, 2021
www.theexchange.africa
Aviation

Kenya Airways and South African Airways seek to create new Pan African Airline Group by 2023

May 23, 2022
Next Post
banking in zimbabwe

Mobile money use surge heralds new era for Africa

Rwanda sets focus in making Kigali financial capital of Africa

Rwanda sets focus in making Kigali financial capital of Africa

It’s a jumbo task as elephant population in Africa soars

It’s a jumbo task as elephant population in Africa soars




This months edition

Features

The leaders of the BRICS nations meet at the group’s summit in Osaka in June 2019. Concerns are India might pull out of the group over tensions with China. (Photo/ Reuters)
Countries

What does Russia’s invasion of Ukraine mean for Southern Africa?

by Albert Nangara
August 3, 2022
0

When the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on March 2 to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, African countries accounted...

Read more
Logistics and transport startups will play a major role in enabling Africa’s largest free-trade area (Photo/ Quartz Africa)
Industry and Trade

Trends shaping the future of logistics in African markets

by Albert Nangara
August 3, 2022
0

Digitization of logistics and compliance with sustainability policies will shape the future of logistics in African markets. Digitalization involves the...

Read more
Biometric systems are expected to lead the market for airport security systems in growth over the next five years, as the market increases at an 8 per cent CAGR through 2024 (Photo/ Biometric Updates).
Tech & Business

Machine learning, Artificial Intelligence changing Africa’s Airports

by Albert Nangara
August 2, 2022
0

According to Frontiers, AI has been recognized to have a wide potential to reduce human workload or increase human capabilities...

Read more
www.theexchange.africa/
Investing

ESG global mining and the social license

by Laurence Sithole
August 2, 2022
0

In terms of achieving net zero carbon emissions, the largest mining companies in the world have several options – each...

Read more
Some of the group members learning the components of the new briquette making machine. The machine can produce 500 briquettes per day. www.theexchange.africa
Investing

Reusable, organic charcoal: Answer to Africa’s cooking fuel challenges

by Njenga Hakeenah
August 2, 2022
0

United for Green is working to ensure that Africans do not get to these extremes. By empowering women, the plan...

Read more

News

Banking
Industry & Trade
Investing
Money Deals
Regional Markets
Tech & Biz
Opinion

Countries

Kenya
Tanzania
Uganda
Burundi
Rwanda
Southern Africa
Ethiopia

More

My Account
Contact us
Advertise
About us
Help Center

Subscribers Center

E-paper
Premium Stories
Education Rates
Corporate Subscriptions
Weekely Newsletter

  • My account
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Refund Policy – The Exchange
  • Sitemap

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Banking
  • Industry & Trade
  • Investing
  • Money Deals
  • Regional Markets
  • Tech & Biz
  • Countries
  • Opinion
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Cart

© 2021 The Exchange - Powered by MediapixManaged by Supported by Digihandler,

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In