The COVID-19 pandemic is causing more harm than previously expected to Africa’s aviation industry, according to new data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Data released last week show that job losses in aviation and related industries could total more than half of the 6.2 people working in those industries; the projection of 3.5 million job losses is up 400,000 from an earlier estimate, released in April.
Air traffic for the year in Africa is now forecast to drop about 80 million passenger journeys, or 54 percent, below 2019 levels, compared with April’s forecast, which was down 51 percent, and the region’s gross domestic product supported by aviation is expected to fall as much as $35 billion, compared with April’s estimate of $28 billion, IATA said.
“COVID-19 has devastated African economies and brought air connectivity across the continent to a virtual standstill,” Muhammad Al Bakri, IATA regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East, s…
