2nd April, 2020
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), on Thursday, projected a potential revenue loss by airlines in Africa and the Middle East to have reached US$23 billion (N8.74 trillion) due to the Coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world.
Muhammad Al-Bakri, the IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, made the disclosure in a statement issued in Lagos.
Al-Bakri said about US$19 billion (N7.22 trillion) and US$4 billion (N1.52 trillion) had so far been lost by the airlines operating in the Middle East and Africa, respectively.
According to him, this translates into a drop in industry revenues by 32 percent for Africa and 39 percent for the Middle East for 2020 compared with those of 2019.
He, therefore, called for urgent action from governments in Africa and the Middle East to provide financial relief to the airlines.
Al-Bakri explained that some of the impacts at the national level included the Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya.
“In Saudi Arabia, it’s 26.7 million fewer passengers, resulting in a US$5.61billion revenue loss, risking 217,570 jobs and US$13.6 billion in contribution to Saudi Arabia’s economy.
“In UAE, it’s 23.8 million fewer passengers, resulting in a US$5.36 billion revenue loss, risking 287,863 jobs and US$17.7 billion in contribution to the UAE economy.
“In Egypt, 9.5 million, it’s fewer passengers, resulting in a US$1.6 billion revenue loss, risking almost 205,560 jobs and around US$2.4 billion in contribution to Egypt’s economy.
“In Qatar, it’s 3.6 million fewer passengers, resulting in a US$1.32 billion revenue loss, risking 53,640 jobs and US$2.1billion in contribution to Qatar’s economy.
“In Jordan, it’s 2.8 million fewer passengers, resulting in a US$0.5 billion revenue loss, risking 26,400 jobs and US$0.8 billion in contribution to Jordan’s economy.
“In South Africa, there were 10.7 million fewer passengers, resulting in a US$2.29 billion revenue loss, risking 186,850 jobs and US$3.8 billion in contribution to South Africa’s economy.
“In Nigeria, it’s 3.5 million fewer passengers, resulting in a US$ 0.76 billion revenue loss, risking 91,380 jobs and US$0.65 billion in contribution to Nigeria’s economy.
“The same thing in Ethiopia, with 1.6 million fewer passengers, resulting in a US$0.3billion revenue loss, risking 327,062 jobs and US$1.2 billion in contribution to Ethiopia’s economy.
“In Kenya, it’s 2.5 million fewer passengers, resulting in a US$ 0.54 billion revenue loss, risking 137,965 jobs and US$1.1 billion in contribution to Kenya’s economy,” he said.