By ADAKU WALTER
International Air Transport Association (IATA) has disclosed that air travel in Nigeria and other African countries recorded significant growth in February 2022, despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
IATA, which represents over 230 international and global airlines based in Geneva, revealed this in a report titled: Passenger Recovery Accelerates In February, stating that African airlines’ capacity rose by 34.7 per cent, while load factor climbed 12.9 percentage points to 63.0 per cent.
It added that air travel posted a strong rebound in February 2022 when compared with January 2022, as Omicron-related impacts moderated outside Asia, noting that the Russia and Ukraine war, which began on February 24, did not have a major impact on traffic levels.
The report said total traffic in February 2022 rose by 115.9 per cent compared with the same month last year; adding that domestic traffic also rose by 60.7 per cent compared to a year ago and building on a 42.6 per cent increase in January 2022 compared to January last year, The Trumpet gathered.
It further explained that African airlines recorded a 69.5 per cent rise in February revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) versus a year ago, representing a huge improvement compared to the 20.5 per cent year-over-year increase recorded in January 2022 and when compared to the same month in 2021.
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But globally, RPKs rose by 256.8 per cent as against February 2021, it added, noting that all regions improved in their performance compared when to the previous month.
Director-General of IATA, Willie Walsh, attributed the recovery in air travel to the lifting of restrictions by governments.
He said countries that persisted in their efforts to impose lock downs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than manage it, risked missing out on the economic benefits that restoration of international connectivity would bring.
“As the long-awaited recovery in air travel accelerates, it is important that our infrastructure providers get prepared for a huge increase in passenger numbers in the coming months. We are already seeing reports of unacceptably long lines at some airports owing to the rising number of travelers.
“And that is even before the surge of the Easter holiday travel in most markets next week. The peak Northern summer travel season will also be critical for jobs throughout the travel and tourism value chain.
“Now is the time to prepare. Governments can help by ensuring that border positions are adequately manned and that background security checks for new staff members are managed, as efficiently as possible,” he stated.
