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By Chinelo Obogo
The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has said that the travel ecosystem is reeling from the adverse impact of the re-introduction of travel restrictions and implementation of blanket travel bans since the onset of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus
The association has called on governments and stakeholders to harmonise the health protocols, reconsider the bans and adopt a risk-based approach in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
AFRAA Secretary General, Mr. Abdérahmane Berthé stated: “2021 marked the dawn of recovery with positive trends in air transport activity being remarked across the globe. As at October 2021, African airlines had reopened 81.3 per cent of their international routes that had been closed due to the pandemic. African cargo capacity grew by 33 per cent since 2019 and cargo load factors improved by 9 per cent from pre-pandemic levels.
“The travel restrictions and blanket bans are a huge risk to the gains made in the recovery of the travel ecosystem. Furthermore, air transport connectivity and economic sustainability of airlines’ operations will be negatively impacted.”
AFRAA said it recognises that a risk-based approach and the safe reopening of borders are critical for the efficient restart of aviation and urged governments to remove border restrictions and open their markets to restart the industry with support from Industry Restart Plan Standards and guidance documentation.
