The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that Nigerian airlines and others across Africa will lose $700 million. This might happen in 2022 due to a combination of the Russia-Ukraine war and COVID-19, disclosed at the ongoing 78th IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit in Doha, Qatar.
IATA said that inflation, interest, and exchange rates would affect the growth of the aviation industry globally. They stressed that countries should learn from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the summit, the IATA’s Director-General, Willie Walsh, said, “Governments must have learned their lessons from the COVID-19 crisis. Border closures create economic pain but deliver little to control the spread of the virus. With high levels of population immunity, advanced treatment methods, and surveillance procedures, the risks of COVID-19 managed. At present, there are no circumstances where the human and economic costs of further COVID-19 border closures could be justified.”
The IATA listed risk factors to the aviation sector, including the war in Ukraine and COVID 19. It said that the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on aviation paled compared with the unfolding humanitarian tragedy. It noted that the war in Ukraine would not escalate beyond its borders. But, the rising fuel costs and a dampening demand due to lowered consumer sentiment would influence the aviation sector.
However, It said the Russian international market, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova accounted for 2.3% of global traffic in 2021. They noted that about 7% of international passenger traffic would normally transit Russian airspace (2021 data). Which closed to many operators, mostly on long-haul routes between Asia and Europe or North America.
-Punch.
