LAGOS – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that African carriers suffered cumulative losses of $3.5 billion for 2020-2022.
The association also estimated further losses of $213 million in 2023 alone.
These were contained in a statement by IATA to journalists on Monday.
However, in a bid to strengthen aviation’s contribution to Africa’s economic, social development and improve connectivity, safety and reliability for passengers and shippers, IATA said it was launching ‘Focus Africa.’
According to IATA, this initiative would align private and public stakeholders to deliver measurable progress in six areas.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director-General, in the statement said that Africa accounted for 18 per cent of the global population, but just 2.1 per cent of air transport activities, which include cargo and passenger.
He explained that it was necessary to close the gap so that Africa could benefit from the connectivity, jobs and growth that aviation enables, stressing that was what “Focus Africa is all about.”
Infrastructure constraints, high costs, lack of connectivity, regulatory impediments, slow adoption of global standards and skills shortages affect the customer experience and are all contributory factors to African airlines’ viability and sustainability, IATA said.
IATA noted that sustainably connecting the African continent internally and to global markets with air transport was critical for bringing people together and creating economic and social development opportunities.
It maintained that this would also support the realisation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) for Africa of lifting 50 million people out of poverty by 2030.
In particular, trade and tourism rely on aviation and have immense unrealised potential to create jobs, alleviate poverty, and generate prosperity across the continent. , Independent