The African air transport sector, faced with a difficult economic situation reinforced by the onset of the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, is expected to regain color next year. The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) specifies in its annual report that traffic could reach 67 million passengers in 2022, an increase of 55.81% compared to forecasts for the current year.
“For 2021, we estimate that African airlines will carry 43 million passengers, or about 45% of 2019 traffic,” she said. A gradual improvement in activity which is explained by the reopening of air borders closed due to the pandemic which continues to negatively impact continental air transport with the appearance of new variants which impose travel restrictions.
After a 49% drop in turnover in 2020 compared to 2019, updated figures show a gradual improvement in activity with $ 8.5 billion in losses recorded in 2021 against $ 10.21 billion in losses in 2020. On the market segments, domestic flights were the most popular with 39% of traffic, followed respectively by international services 31.6% and intra-African flights 29.3%.
According to AFRAA, air transport is one of the sectors most affected by Covid-19, an unfavorable context which has led several airlines to initiate restructuring plans marked by the closure of several structures and the elimination of thousands of jobs.
