The African Airlines Association’s (AFRAA) 2020 Africa air transport report reveals that the estimated passenger revenue loss for Africa airlines in 2020 is US$ 10.21 billion with the number of scheduled passengers carried by African airlines dropping from 95 million in 2019 to 34.7 million in 2020, representing a year-on-year decline of 63.7%. The reduction in traffic continued until June, before reversing with the gradual opening of borders.
Northern Africa was the leading region in terms of passenger volumes, representing 36.6% of the total continental traffic. This was followed by Eastern Africa with a share of 22.2%.
Among the 54 countries in the African continent, 13 have direct flights to more than 20 African countries. Ethiopia and Kenya lead with 30 direct flights and more to other countries within Africa.
However, intra-African connectivity remains low, says AFRAA, which calls on African airlines to take the opportunity to develop their Intra-African Network, especially in this period where the EU has limited travels to Europe.
The report can be accessed here.