The Covid-19 pandemic is a major threat to African aviation

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After years of relative growth and an improved safety record, African aviation was just starting to find its wings. Will the airlines be able to navigate the Covid-19 tailwind? The simple answer is no, not without government support, writes Nunurai Ndawana

But aviation is a fragile industry that is easily affected by adverse weather, terrorism, fluctuations in oil prices, poor government policies and health pandemics.

On January 30, African airlines made a series of announcements about suspending services to China. RwandAir, Kenya Airways and Air Mauritius suspended all flights until further notice. SAA had already axed Hong Kong as a result of the airline’s own financial troubles. The Djibouti government closed all airports; Mauritius did the same and Ghana imposed tough entry restrictions for nationals from high-risk countries, leading to the African giant Ethiopian Airlines to suspend service to 30 destinations.

Airlines are coming up with innovative ways to maintain load factors. Sales promotions have been the low-hanging fruit for most. Another method has been to allow passengers to change their travelling dates to a later date at no cost. What this essentially does is to enable airlines to retain the money paid for a ticket for immediate financial obligations, rather than reimbursing passengers.

 

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