Air Travel Demands In Africa Grown By 116%

Air Travel demands in Africa has grown by 116%, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

African airlines’ traffic rose 116.2% in April 2022 versus a year ago, an acceleration over the 93.3% year-over-year. 

IATA says that the growth was driven primarily by international demand.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that air travel in Africa including Nigeria has resumed its strong recovery trend, despite the war in Ukraine and travel restrictions in China.

The global trade body representing over 290 international airlines across 120 countries said the growth was driven primarily by international demand.

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African airlines’ traffic rose 116.2 percent in April 2022 versus a year ago, an acceleration over the 93.3 percent year-over-year increase recorded in March 2022. April 2022 capacity was up by 65.7 percent and load factor climbed 15.7 percentage points to 67.3 percent.

“International RPKs rose 331.9 percent versus April 2021, an acceleration over the 289.9 percent rise in March 2022 compared to a year ago. Several route areas are actually above pre-pandemic levels, including Europe – Central America, Middle East – North America, and North America – Central America. April 2022 international RPKs were down 43.4 percent compared to the same month in 2019,” the association said.

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Speaking on the development, the Director-General of IATA, Willie Walsh, said :

“With the lifting of many border restrictions, we are seeing the long-expected surge in bookings as people seek to make up for two years of lost travel opportunities. April data is cause for optimism in almost all markets, except China, which continues to severely restrict travel.

“The experience of the rest of the world is demonstrating that increased travel is manageable with high levels of population immunity and the normal systems for disease surveillance. We hope that China can recognize this success soon and take its own steps towards normality.”

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