African States have been urged by the African Airlines Association to expedite the vaccine roll-out campaign in Africa, lift prohibitive travel restrictions, adopt a globally interoperable digital health pass or certificate and make available universal, accessible and affordable COVID-19 testing facilities to all air travelers as priority actions for the efficient recovery of the air transport industry in Africa
A relentless pandemic and sluggish action from African states continues to depress travel demand resulting in a slower than expected recovery for the industry
“This crisis is longer and deeper than anyone could have expected. Losses will be reduced from 2020, but the pain of the crisis increases. There is optimism in domestic markets where aviation’s hallmark resilience is demonstrated by rebounds in markets without internal travel restrictions. Government imposed travel restrictions, however, continue to dampen the strong underlying demand for international travel. Despite an estimated 2.4 billion people travelling by air in 2021, airlines will burn through a further $81 billion of cash,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General
According to IATA, relatively weak economic growth in Africa will also limit the extent of pent-up demand. Nonetheless, net losses are expected to fall this year, from -32% of revenues in 2020 to -24%.
African Airlines were encouraged at a recent AFRAA meeting to be flexible, lean, smart, collaborate and have a clear strategic focus and to put in place future-ready business models
Airspace Africa asked AFRAA’s Consulting Director for Government, Legal and Industry Affairs, Raphael Kucchi, if African airlines have learnt the lessons from the pandemic and what this means for the future
He said: “Every airline including those in Africa have learned great lessons from the pandemic. Hopefully, we will emerge from Covid-19 a much resilient industry than ever before.
Many airlines now appreciate the need to be agile, adopt technology and be responsive to customer needs. Going forward, the industry transformation will largely depend on these pillars.
Many African airlines know that demand is only suppressed by the covid pandemic and the resultant uncoordinated health protocols in different countries. Once covid-19 is behind us, the traffic will bounce back.
I commend the AU, AFCAC and the AfCFTA for not relenting in their efforts amidst the pandemic to complete the regulatory frameworks and protocols to roll out a single African market for travel, business and trade. By the time, we emerge from Covid-19, Africa should be a unified market of 1.3 billion people. The opportunities are enormous and it’s the reason we continue to urge governments to support airlines to go through these difficult times.”