African airlines face slower recovery from pandemic: IATA

African airlines are proving particularly vulnerable to the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest analysis from IATA. The industry’s body’s forecast for airline traffic, capacity and finances – released on 24 November – shows Africa lagging already punishing global figures. “Airlines in Africa have burnt all their cash reserves,” states IATA’s regional VP for Africa and the Middle East, Muhammad Ali Albakri, during a briefing today. “We need to continue to provide financial support and financial aid, and proper policy and regulations, and we also need to quickly open up borders and remove hurdles to allow revenue streams to come to airlines.” In explaining the region’s worse outlook, Albakri says that African airlines have received “little government support” during the crisis, while the “relative lack of cold chain facilities” may delay the distribution of vaccines, meaning Africa is expected to experience a delayed recovery in financial performance. Those factors add to the pre-pandemic challenges in the African market, which has proven a stubborn environment for airlines seeking to make inroads and money, amid fragmented connectivity and a complex regulatory system. The long-term decline of South African Airways and the failure-strewn landscape of relaunched flag carriers are two examples of this difficult market in action. So, while passenger traffic is forecast to be down 66.3% globally in 2020, Africa’s decline is predicted to be 72%. Crucially, Africa’s recovery next year is also expected to be much slower, with the region forecast to see demand 62% down on 2019 figures, versus a global prediction of 50%.<br/>