African airlines lost a collective $8.6b in 2021 due to travel restrictions caused by COVID-19

According to an updated report by the African Airlines Association (Afraa), the COVID-19 pandemic continued to hammer Africa's aviation industry in 2021, resulting in an estimated $8.6b revenue loss. While the figure is less than the $10.21b revenue loss recorded by the sector in 2020, it did mark a 49.8% decline when compared to the revenue recorded by the sector prior to the pandemic in 2019. The report blamed the revenue loss on the stringent travel restrictions placed by governments, in a bid to contain the Coronavirus. While the restrictions were well-intentioned, they also inevitably made it impossibly for African airlines to operate optimally. As a matter of fact, the traffic volume from January through to December was 42.3% less than what was recorded in 2019. "Across Africa in general, passenger traffic volumes remain depressed due to the unilateral and uncoordinated travel health restrictions imposed by some governments following the outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. <br/>