The COVID-19 Pandemic and African Aviation : Policy Note
The COVID-19 pandemic is posing an existential threat to the air transport sector globally, including in Africa. Due to sustained and significant loss of revenue coupled with the presence of several fixed and quasi-fixed inputs in this sector, the...
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Language: | English English |
Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2022
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Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099130002172228847/P1758560d388850620b1d002f49f4278f62 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37038 |
Summary: | The COVID-19 pandemic is posing an
existential threat to the air transport sector globally,
including in Africa. Due to sustained and significant loss
of revenue coupled with the presence of several fixed and
quasi-fixed inputs in this sector, the survival of carriers
is questionable in the short term. This could lead to
bankruptcies of important African-based airlines resulting
in severe loss of connectivity, especially in the
intra-African markets. If history is any guide, within the
current regulatory environment that restricts market access
and the ownership and control of airlines, it could be a
long time before another airline fills the void left by a
defunct airline in Africa. This challenge is further
compounded by the difficulty of accessing capital and the
high cost of (re)training and attracting the highly skilled
labor typically needed to run a viable airline. The
objective of this policy note is to explore policy and
operational strategies to build back a safe and competitive
air transport sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis
in Africa. It focuses on four broad areas: it provides a
short status update on the impact of the pandemic; reviews
pre-COVID-19 sector challenges from the supply, demand, and
regulatory sides; tracks and analyzes government financial
support and bailouts to airlines in the aftermath of the
crisis globally; and identifies and recommends operational
and policy responses to mitigate the impact of the crisis
and put the aviation sector on a sustainable development path. |
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