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IATA, ACI Adopt Strategy to Boost Post Pandemic Travel

February 23, 2022

Director-General, ACI Europe, Olivier Jankovec

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in collaboration with the Airport Council International (ACI), have welcomed the adoption of the European Union Council Recommendation for external travelers coming into the EU and called for further action to help re-start air connectivity.

Announcing the move in a statement on Tuesday, the group said that the new regime aligned with the recommendation already adopted in January regarding intra-EU travel, and thus further strengthened the principle of travel criteria based on travelers’ personal health status rather than on the epidemiological situation of the country or area of departure.

The group said that travel restrictions have little or no impact on the epidemiological spread.

The statement read in part, “Airports and airlines both pointed to the body of evidence supporting this approach, with unequivocal guidance from the World Health Organization along with independent third party research showing that travel restrictions have little or no impact on epidemiological spread”

“EU states should accept all travelers fully vaccinated with EU approved vaccines without any restrictions or conditions. EU States should accept all travelers fully vaccinated with other WHO-listed vaccines and recovered travelers either without any restrictions/conditions or only with the requirement of a negative pre-departure PCR test. EU states could also fully accept fully vaccinated travelers not holding a valid EU DCC or equivalent, subject to a negative pre-departure PCR test.”

While the recommendation is an undoubted step forward, IATA said the industry called for EU states to move further, towards an unconditional acceptance of all WHO-approved vaccines, and also replacing PCR with rapid antigen testing options.

The Director-General, ACI Europe, Olivier Jankovec, was quoted as saying, “We now know beyond any doubt that a regime based on travelers’ personal health status is right for individuals, for economies, and for societies. There is no evidence to support any other approach. As the safe resumption of air connectivity gathers pace, it is vital that member states implement this recommendation, bringing structure, predictability, and harmonisation to the benefit of all. We urge them to do so,”

Also, the IATA’s Regional Vice President for Europe, Rafael Schvartzman, said, “We welcome this logical Recommendation by the European Council. A vaccinated traveler from outside the EU should be treated no differently to one inside the EU. While we urge member states to implement this recommendation as an important step towards living normally with this virus, it is important that the EU considers more flexibility on the approved vaccine list.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Africa’s Air Passenger Traffic Fell by 66% as Global Losses Topped $126b in 2020

August 16, 2021

Recent reports have shown that air passenger traffic in Africa fell by 65.7 percent in 2020 as the global air transport industry witnessed the steepest fall in 70 years. The grim numbers form part of the highlights of the International Air Transport Association’s World Air Transport Statistics report, released in Montreal recently. This follows data showing that composite demand for air travel slipped by 65.9 percent year-on-year while the international segment saw a 75.6 percent decrease relative to 2019.

This has been described as the steepest fall in 70 years. Global industry losses topped $126 billion for the year, as disruption by Covid-19 impacted demand and the number of aircraft operated by airlines.

The grim numbers form part of the highlights of the International Air Transport Association’s World Air Transport Statistics report, released in Montreal recently. Only 1.8 billion passengers traveled by air during the year representing a 60.2 percent decline from the 4.5 billion that flew in 2019.

African airlines carried 34.3 million passengers during the year, representing 65.7 percent fall from the 95 million carried in 2019. The numbers represent the worst performance since the International Air Transport Association (IATA) started tracking global traffic demand in 1950.

Composite demand for air travel slipped by 65.9 percent year-on-year while the international segment saw a 75.6 percent decrease relative to 2019. The domestic sector fared better shrinking by 48.8 percent over 2019 as the number of international routes fell two-thirds.

Head of IATA Willie Walsh said that while “2020 was a year that we’d all like to forget,” the statistics for the year reveal “an amazing story of perseverance.” He said that 66 percent of the world’s commercial air transport fleet was grounded at the height of the crisis in April 2020, as governments closed borders or imposed strict quarantines.

“A million jobs disappeared. And industry losses for the year totalled $126 billion,” said Mr Walsh.

Airlines lost $71.7 per passenger on average, taking losses by African airlines to $10.21 billion during the year. Globally, passenger revenues fell by 69 percent to $189 billion while net losses topped $126.4 billion.

The Middle East region lost the most passengers with a 71.5 percent drop in revenue per passenger per kilometre followed by Europe at -69.7 percent and the Africa continent at -68.5 percent. Asia pacific carried 780.7 million passengers followed by North America at 401.7 million, Europe 389.9 million, Latin America 123.6 million and the Middle East and Africa at 76.8 and 34.3 million respectively.

The pandemic also saw China rise to the top of the domestic market for the first time in history following a faster recovery in their domestic market on the back of a more robust Covid-19 control effort. According to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), northern Africa accounted for the largest volume of passengers in Africa, representing nearly 37 percent of total continental traffic, followed by eastern Africa at 22.2 percent and southern Africa at 21 percent. Central and West Africa accounted for 19.7 percent.

While Johannesburg and Cairo maintained their ranks as the busiest airports in Africa during 2020, Jomo Kenyatta International handled 330,000 tonnes of cargo, making it the biggest cargo hub on the continent. Nairobi was followed by Cairo International, which handled 280,000 tonnes.

Forty-three percent of traffic carried by African airlines during 2020 was domestic while 38 percent was intercontinental and 19 percent intra-African. At 21 percent, Europe remained the major destination for African airlines during the year.