African Airlines Traffic Drop By 69.8% – IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), has released full-year global passenger traffic results for 2020 showing that demand in Africa airlines drop by 69.8 percent compared to previous year. 

The organization described 2020, as the worst in the Aviation industry noting that global passengers also fell by 65.9% compared to the full year of 2019, by far the sharpest traffic decline in aviation history.

According to IATA’s Director General and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, “Last year was a catastrophe. There is no other way to describe it”

“What recovery there was over the Northern hemisphere summer season stalled in autumn and the situation turned dramatically worse over the year-end holiday season, as more severe travel restrictions were imposed in the face of new outbreaks and new strains of COVID-19.”

Although, carriers in the Africa region benefited from the global challenge somewhat less severe international travel restrictions compared to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile, as the year began bookings for future travel made in January 2021, dropped by 70% compared to a year-ago, putting further pressure on airline cash positions and potentially impacting the timing of the expected recovery.

However, IATA’s forecast for 2021 is for a 50.4% improvement on 2020 demand that would bring the industry to 50.6% of 2019 levels. While this view remains unchanged, there is a severe downside risk if more severe travel restrictions in response to new variants persist.

The organization is optimistic that the arrival and initial distribution of vaccines would lead to a prompt and orderly restoration in global air travel have been dashed in the face of new outbreaks and new mutations of the disease.

Juniac noted that the world is more locked down today than at virtually any point in the past 12 months and passengers face a bewildering array of rapidly changing and globally uncoordinated travel restrictions.

Furthermore, IATA call on governments to work with industry to develop the standards for vaccination, testing, and validation that will enable governments to have confidence that borders can reopen and international air travel can resume once the virus threat has been neutralized.