African airlines are projected to make a combined loss of $8.2billion (Sh900.3 billion)at the end of this year as the re-start of operations on intercontinental routes by the airlines and vaccination status of the continent remain low.
The Star’s Susan Nyawira recently had an interview with the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Secretary General Abderahmane Berthe who spoke on various challenges within the sector, opportunities that can be leveraged by African airlines and recovery efforts.
1. What is the state of the African aviation industry in 2021?
Globally the Covid-19 cases continue to rise despite the fact that 24.6 per cent of the world’s population has been vaccinated. In Africa, just about 1.85 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated according to data available on the Africa CDC website.
Re-start of operations on intercontinental routes by African airlines reached 77.8 per cent in August, though frequency and capacity remain constraint.
Airlines which added new intercontinental routes to the operation in August include Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc and Kenya Airways. It is worth noting that, Egyptair, Ethiopian Airlines, Royal air Maroc and Rwandair now operate to about 90 per cent of their pre-Covid intercontinental destinations.
2 Are there any notable recovery trends as economies open up within the aviation industry?
In the month of August air passenger traffic reached 46.8 per cent compared to same month in 2019 while capacity was at 54.6 per cent. A good sign of recovery.
Domestic markets across Africa recorded a slight reduction in passenger demand although still outperforming intra-Africa and intercontinental traffic. Domestic traffic for the month of August was 58.9 per cent compared to 22.7 per cent for intra-Africa and 18.4 per cent for intercontinental.
3. What are your insights on the various challenges within the sector and opportunities that can be leveraged by African airlines?
There are challenges in the aviation…