Africa airlines stand to lose approximately $8.103billion (Sh860.5 billion) in revenue this year, according to the African Airlines Association.
The Covid-19 impact assessment analysis further shows a 90.3 per cent year on year passenger traffic reduction for the month of May with recovery expected to start from the third quarter of 2020 with domestic operations, followed by regional and intercontinental flights.
On cargo operations, there is currently a shortage of cargo capacity in Africa due to needs for carriage of medical equipment and essential goods.
In the wake of this lack of capacity and rising prices, AFRAA is assisting its members to adapt in a bid to keep supply chains operational.
“The availability of liquidity is the main issue to be addressed for airlines to survive and restart their operations as without it, airlines cannot survive this pandemic long enough to restart their operations,” said AFRAA Secretary General, Abdérahmane Berthé.
AFRAA has urged African governments to consider a bailout and stimulus package that compensates for the significant losses, reduces the burden of ongoing operating costs, and subsidizes the industry’s survival and recovery.
“We also call upon international financial institutions and development partners to support Airlines with facilities that can help ensure the availability of much-needed credit and liquidity,” Berthé added.
Since the onset of the crisis, AFRAA whose mission is to serve African Airlines and champion Africa’s aviation industry has taken various initiatives to ensure the sector’s resilience to the pandemic and for post recovery efforts.
Key among these initiatives is the AFRAA recovery plan that defines a framework of various areas of intervention measures to be taken as part of urgent, immediate, and consistent actions for the survival and rebound of the industry.
AFRAA is also working closely with leading aviation industry organizations under the framework of the High Level Task Force that is undertaking various actions to ensure that the African civil aviation industry is well positioned on a strong trajectory for recovery during and post COVID-19.
