African airlines: cargo continues to grow, passenger traffic remains low
Too many governments continue to act as if the only tool in their anti-COVID-19 arsenal is a blanket border closure or an inbound quarantine, IATA laments. And this is not without impact on the operational performance of airlines.
Cargo demand by African airlines increased by 24.5% in May, compared to the same month in 2019. This is revealed by the figures published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Wednesday 7 July. However, this is a drop in performance compared to the previous month (-34.0%). The reason for this decline is the slowdown in trade flows between Africa and Asia.
Globally, demand rose by 9.4% compared to May 2019. The pace of growth slowed slightly in May compared to April, which had seen an 11.3% rebound from pre-Covid-19 levels (April 2019). "Nonetheless, air cargo outperformed world merchandise trade for the fifth consecutive month," IATA says.
As has been the case since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, passenger demand from African carriers remains in the red, with a 71.4% drop in May compared to the same period two years ago. This is still better than the 75.6% drop in April 2021 compared to April 2019. Capacity in May was down 61.8% compared to the same month two years ago. The load factor fell by 16.9% to 50.2%.
Globally, demand fell by 62.7% compared to May 2019. This is a gain from the 65.2% decline in April 2021 compared to April 2019. "All regions except Asia-Pacific contributed to this modest improvement," the Association notes.
According to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), revenue losses in the first half of 2021 are estimated at $5 billion. This compares to $10.21 billion in fiscal year 2020, a poor performance that poses a direct threat to the survival of the African aviation industry if the trend continues.
