Jomo Kenyatta International Airport handled the largest share of Africa’s cargo last year even as the continental air transport sector incurred a $10.21 billion (Sh1.1 trillion)loss on Covid-19 effects.
The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) report issued Thursday shows JKIA handled more than 330,000 tonnes of freight in 2020, followed by Cairo’s International Airport at 280,000 tonnes.
Cargo revenues are expected to reach $152 billion, a historic high. This is up from $128 billion in 2020 and $101 billion in 2019.
''Capacity remains constrained owing to the large-scale grounding of the passenger fleet. This removed significant belly capacity, driving up yields 40 per cent in 2020, with a further five growth expected in 2021,'' the report said.
In 2021 cargo will account for a third of industry revenues. This is significantly above cargo’s historic contribution, which ranged around 10-15 per cent of total revenues. The improvement in cargo, however, is not able to offset the dramatic decline in passenger revenues.
Northern Africa was the leading region in terms of passenger volumes, representing 36.6per cent of the total continental traffic. This was followed by Eastern Africa with a share of 22.2 per cent
The number of scheduled passengers carried by African airlines dropped from 95 million in 2019 to 34.7 million, representing a year-on-year decline of 63.7 per cent as most countries locked airspace to contain the spread of Covid-19.
The reduction in traffic continued until June, before reversing with the gradual opening of borders.
Overall passenger numbers are expected to reach 2.4 billion in 2021. That is an improvement on the nearly 1.8 billion who traveled in 2020 but well below the 2019 peak of 4.5 billion.
Johannesburg and Cairo were the busiest airports in Africa in 2020. Lagos was the only West and Central African airport in the top 10 ranking.
Among the 54 countries in the African continent, 13 have direct flights to more than 20 African countries. Ethiopia and Kenya lead with 30 direct flights and more to other countries within Africa.
''However, intra-African connectivity remains low. African airlines should take the opportunity to develop their Intra-African Network, especially in this period where the EU has limited travel to Europe,'' the AFRAA report read in part.
In terms of airport charges, Lusaka had the highest level of airport charges while Mahe Island had the lowest.
Some of the busiest airports in Africa like Johannesburg, Addis, Algiers are among the least expensive. This indicates that lowering airport charges can have a positive effect on traffic.
