Airlines in the Middle East and Africa “without a doubt” face a threat of pandemic-induced bankruptcies this year in the absence of timely support, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata)’s new regional chief.
The aviation industry’s main lobby group is talking to authorities across the region to “highlight the dangers” of insufficient support for national carriers, Kamil Al-Awadhi, Iata’s regional vice president for Africa and Middle East, said in an interview.
African airlines are staring at bankruptcy if their liquidity crisis is not addressed with urgency, a new survey has shown.
The survey by The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) reveals that Indeed, a number of airlines around the world are already insolvent.
In Africa, for instance, Air Mauritius has entered into administration. But the report dubbed Policy research paper Covid-19 and African airlines overcoming a liquidity crisis also observes that some carriers on the continent were already struggling prior to the spread of COVID-19.
Concerns over the risk of transmission of the highly contagious coronavirus variant have slowed return of tourists to Kenya, exerting further pressure on the shilling.
Economists from world’s leading banks, consultancies and think-tanks — polled between February 16 and 21— said recovery of the battered tourism sector is being held back by worries over rising risk of transmission of the contagious virus strain.
Ministry of Health said earlier in the month it had reactivated Covid-19 surveillance at the ports of entry to help in early detection of the highly contagious virus strain.
Kenya Airways and its subsidiary Jambojet were found to have been at fault by the competition watchdog for cancelling tickets that had been booked in the period when the country effected travel bans to curb spread of the coronavirus disease.
In its latest annual report tabled before Parliament, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) says that it forced Kenya Airways to refund customers for tickets cancelled in the period under review and ordered Jambojet to renew others bought in March following customer complains. The tickets were for Nairobi-Mombasa and Nairobi-Eldoret routes.
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