A new agreement signed by government officials from the Minister of United Arab Emirates (UAE) Cabinet Affairs and the International Civil Aviation Organization will form a new ICAO-UAE partnership to improve aviation cybersecurity strategy and policy for aviation stakeholders in the Middle East.

The agreement was signed during an ICAO mission to the UAE last week, where ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano addressed the UAE’s “High Level Conference on Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation,” which is held as part of the annual World Government Summit in Dubai. In his speech, Sciacchitano highlighted the presence of some of the legacy systems and networks that comprise what he describes as the backbone of aviation’s “information architecture” or “system of systems.”

“Legacy systems most especially can contain outdated hardware and software that is not always easy to replace. They also can pose inherent security vulnerabilities, being unable to accommodate latest security and encryption best practices,” Sciacchitano said.

While the pandemic led to a historic decrease in the annual volume of passenger-carrying airline flights between 2020 and 2021, a report from Eurocontrol’s new cybersecurity data collection initiative showed a major rise in the number of cyber attacks reported to the agency by aviation companies based in Europe. Several recent cyber attacks that have caused disruption to airlines, airports, and aviation service providers have also shown how large of a target the system of systems is for hackers and bad actors.

In February, Swissport, an airport ground services provider with operations at 285 airports in 45 countries, reported a ransomware attack that took some of its main information sharing systems temporarily offline. Newsweek published an article last year showing how the personal data of more than 4 million passengers was compromised in a cyber attack targeting several airlines that operate in the Asia Pacific region including Air India, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Finnair.

“The pandemic has also fostered a significant public expectation for touch-less technologies to make their future traveller experience healthier and safer, meaning that we face an entire new wave of compartmentalized digitalization, and still further system-of-systems vulnerabilities arising,” Sciacchitano said in his speech.

The UAE-ICAO aviation cybersecurity agreement will focus on collaboration between the two sides that fosters knowledge and information sharing leading to “accelerators, innovation in future civil aviation, and cybersecurity,” according to ICAO’s announcement of the new agreement. ICAO’s agreement with the UAE government is the agency’s latest progress on standardizing the way the global aviation industry responds to and regulates cyber attacks against aviation assets.

The agency adopted Assembly Resolution A40-10—Addressing Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation, during the 40th Session of the ICAO Assembly that calls upon ICAO member-states to implement the ICAO Aviation Cybersecurity Strategy, first published in October 2019. Sciacchitano also advocated in his speech for more ICAO member-states to adopt the Beijing Convention and Protocol of 2010 to establish a global legal framework for dealing with “cyberattacks on international civil aviation as crimes.”

“In addition, ICAO has been developing an international aviation trust framework to support the cybersecurity and cyber resilience of civil aviation in the air navigation domain,” Sciacchitano said. “This is a very important project, probably the most important of recent years, to support the secure global exchange of digital aviation information, and will include procedures, technical specifications, and guidance material supporting current and future global network requirements.”

Source: Aviation Today

The unprecedented demand for airport capacity to handle essential cargo such as temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals and Covid-19 vaccines over the past two years of the Covid-19 pandemic exposed the massive shortage of airport infrastructure in Africa.

Even among major airport hubs in various parts of Africa, passenger and cargo figures have overwhelmed available capacity or would do so in the near future. This poor capacity restricts African airports’ growth and associated revenue. In response to this challenge, Ethiopian had increased the existing Bole International Airport capacity from seven million passengers per annum capacity to 22 million capacity. In addition, Ethiopian Airlines a few years ago announced plans to build a $5 billion massive airport in Addis Ababa, to complement the existing Bole International Airport and accommodate fast-rising passenger and cargo traffic. The airport would cover an area of 35 square kilometers and accommodate 100 million passengers annually.

Agreeably, this lack of airport capacity in Africa represents investment opportunities for investors. Transit sheds, cold stores, specialized freight consolidation centers, and e-warehousing, among others, present good investment opportunities all over the continent. Daniel Eckstein, Business Development Manager Middle East, and Africa of Munich Airport International (MAI) – Munich Airport’s international business subsidiary, said African airports and investors have opportunities to create airport cities, business parks, or free trade zones in order to tap further non-aviation revenue potential.

On the landside too, African airports could diversify revenue streams with shopping, restaurant, hotel, and conference centers, office leasing for international companies, rental events spaces and construction of a smart city in form of the cross-industry innovation centre, among other businesses.

Leading from the front Currently, a number of African airports and airport authorities are already developing or executing future expansion plans to meet crucial current and future demand, ensure steady growth and development of their airports, and contribution to their economies. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), which refers to itself as “the largest air freight service provider in Africa”, is implementing its Air Cargo Strategy 2019-2022 to drive cargo development.

At Isiolo International Airport, KAA says cargo handling sheds have been completed to take care of the export of agricultural produce and Miraa. Construction of a modern transit shed is underway at Mombasa’s Moi International Airport, and a new cold storage room and specialized consolidation area will form part of the upgrade planned for the airport. Kisumu is being positioned to attract massive trade and investment in its Great Lakes region.

Early January 2022, Kisumu Airport announced its first cargo flight to international markets on Kenya Airways. “Local and international investors are attracted to Kisumu International Airport due to its multi-modal transportation capabilities and proximity to the Kisumu Port, the ICD, and the modern road network,” KAA states. KAA is also in the process of modernizing and expanding Eldoret International Airport’s transit sheds to handle more cargo “as we envisage increased airfreight activity, both local and international.”

Cameroun recently announced infrastructure improvement inaugurated at the Yaounde-Nsimalen International Airport including the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), the patrol road, the rehabilitation of the security fence, and the Yaounde-Nsimalen International Airport ring road. Sierra Leone also reported efforts to improve safety at its airports. Jack Massaquoi, General Manager of Sierra Leone Airports Authority (SLAA), says the Sierra Leone Airports Authority wants to keep first responders on their toes and to always stay cognizant of their safety roles. For Seychelles airports, they have a “strategy to proactively pursue innovative business ventures to provide more diverse services for our customers.”

Public-private partnership Partnerships are vital to reposition African airports to meet the current and future needs of airport users including airlines, tourists, and business meetings. Public-private partnership is instrumental to the development of Kenya airports, and this offers the solution to develop Africa’s remote airports where agriculture and other primary produce are generated.

In West Africa, Nigeria’s move to concession its major international airports in Kano, Port Harcourt, Abuja, and Lagos could be a first step towards positioning the country’s airports to benefit from the air transport and trade liberalization in the continent. Without the intrigues and controversies that marred previous concessions in Lagos, Nigerian airports development could be another example for other African airports to toe their line.

Airline-airport synergy Both Kenya and Ethiopian Airports expansion are significantly driven by their well-established national carriers, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian, respectively, which spearhead cargo and passenger traffic to the airports. Other African states could drive their airports expansion relying on traffic from privately-owned domestic or regional African airlines, which have now been empowered to fly into airports on the continent unfettered by the glorious Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) established in 2018.

About 35 states have signed the SAATM, so airlines from these states are expected to explore the airports in these states and the high volume of trade is expected to ensue from the operationalization of the complementary African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) launched continent-wide in January 2021. Under the new SAATM and AcfCFTA environment, there must be robust collaboration and partnerships between African airlines and African airports. This also presupposes that African airports must intensify their non-aeronautical revenue drive which would enable these airports, in turn to reduce emphases on charges on airlines. Most African airports operate far below 50 percent of non-aeronautical revenue.

Ethiopian Airports, for instance, is showing good example in non-aeronautical revenue development, with its luxury Skylight Hotel that offers 373 guest rooms and conference hall for 2500 guests, being the biggest hotel in Addis Ababa. Targets and timelines The examples of multi-year development plans by Kenya Airports Authority, Ethiopian Airports, and Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) have clearly demonstrated benefits. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa enabled ACSA develop especially the Johannesburg airport to accommodate the traffic resulting from the event and future traffic.

Setting airport expansion and development targets would enable African airports measure their direction, as well as growth achieved within a given period. It will also guide the private sector investors and concessionaires to expedite action in areas of immediate need. Most importantly, Africa is still providing less than two percent of global air traffic; thus, setting a realizable target of 5-10 percent of global market share over the next 5-10 years is a project all African airports should strive towards, as a priority. Synergize with cargo value-chain Aviation cannot develop in a silo.

Airports development stakeholders must collaborate with especially cargo sources such as the agricultural sector and the transport and packaging value-chain to develop and facilitate acceptable products and package standards for movement by air. This would reduce spoilage and economic losses associated with movement of perishable agricultural and other products by poor road networks over long distances in Africa. Embrace technology and e-commerce Africa’s 1.3billion population has remarkably the youngest population that is also largely immersed in mobile technology and e-commerce. African airports should realign accordingly and adopt new airport technology to enhance customer experience, and further explore the fast-rising e-commerce industry.

E-commerce should be a key feature among businesses in the evolving Free Trade Area in Africa which is designed to drive massive trade activities within Africa. The current traffic trend mired by the Covid-19 pandemic could make short-term traffic projections rather difficult. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) says “Africa and the Middle East recovering moderately, until Africa plunged again due to Omicron restrictions.” In fact, Ali Tounsi, secretary-general of Airports Council International Africa Region (ACI-Africa), says that cargo is now one-third of the airline business; and it is hoped that air cargo can grow even further with the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area, e-commerce and the linkages to manufacturing facilities and Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

Despite this challenge, 2022 presents a window of recovery for African airports and investors to take the better option of planning and executing for the immediate- and longer-terms, given that the pandemic would become better managed to unstop reopening of borders and flow of air traffic to African airports.

Government must take responsibility According to Tounsi, African airports are controlled nearly 90 percent by governments. This puts the responsibility of driving the evolution of African airports on the governments. Governments must, in turn, create the enabling environment that attracts private investors, including airport-airline partnerships. African governments must take responsibility to ensure that African airlines are supported – under a robust Dispute Settlement Mechanism of the SAATM – to drive cargo and passengers to African airports, including airports with huge cargo potentials. Foreign airlines are already positioned to take away the opportunities emanating with the AfCFTA, with Qatar Airways relishing prospects of cargo from Nigeria’s Kano International Airport.

Source: Logistic Update Africa

Thousands of Nigerian travelers have been left stranded at airports throughout the country because of a massive fuel shortage.

In the past week, more than three airlines reported shortages of aviation fuel, forcing them to reschedule or cancel flights.

Nigeria’s largest carrier, Air Peace, confirmed Wednesday that the shortage will impact on a number of its flights to Dubai and Johannesburg, its major routes.

Its other major airline, Arik Air, also confirmed it will experience many delays from Wednesday and onwards and many domestic flights will have to be canceled if the problem persists.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer and exporter but the West African country is forced to depend almost entirely on fuel imports because of its inability to refine most of its oil for use at home.

Vanguard, a local publication, reports that the price of Jet A1, the principal fuel used by airlines, has ranged between 1.39 and 1.44 U.S. dollars per liter in the last few days, compared to the 1.08 price at which it previously sold.

In response, airlines that were able to acquire the fuel and continue operating hiked their ticket costs to cover for the increased charges.

Authorities blamed the scarcity of fuel on the withdrawal of adulterated gasoline, which the West African nation’s national oil company said was found to have been imported by four oil marketers.

Speaking with Vanguard on the cause of the scarcity and current high price, Chief Executive Officer of Cleanserve Energy, Mr Chris Ndule, said the current price of crude oil in the international market had affected the prices of all petroleum products, aviation inclusive.

“It is not only aviation fuel price that has increased, other petroleum products prices have also increased. This is partly due to the current price of crude oil in the international market, which is going for between 110 and 125 U.S. dollars per barrel.”

In the aftermath, the oil regulator has been unable to sustain distribution to retail outlets nationwide.

Outside airports, motorists have also been forced to abandon their cars or pay more to public transport operators following a hike in petrol and diesel prices.

Taxi operators have reported long queues, with some spending multiple hours to acquire the precious commodity.

Reports of brokers have also emerged, as scrupulous dealers sell petrol and diesel to desperate Nigerians for more than triple their usual price.

Despite being Africa’s top crude producer, gasoline shortages are common in Nigeria.

The Nigerian government said a “major investigation to unravel everything” has been launched to resolve the latest crisis.

“We are working very closely with the authority that is entrusted with the responsibility of regulating what is going on. Not only that. We are working with the government security agencies to ensure that products get to the stations and that there are also continuous sales in the stations,” the Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, said last week as he sought to assure the country that the situation was under control.

The NNPC had earlier ordered fuel retailers with the commodities to operate throughout in order to avoid long queues.

Source: CGTN

The UK government has announced the implementation of tighter sanctions on Russian aircraft.  

On May 9, 2022, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced a new suite of actions against Russia that will allow the UK government to detain any Russian aircraft and remove any aircraft owned by Russian individuals and entities from the UK register.  

“The ban includes any aircraft owned, operated or chartered by anyone connected with Russia or designated individuals or entities, and will include the power to detain any aircraft owned by persons connected with Russia,” the UK government announced in an official statement. 

The UK government also introduced additional trade measures banning the export of goods and technology related to aviation and space to Russia, including technical assistance and any other related services, such as insurance and reinsurance. 

“This means the cover is withdrawn on existing policies and UK insurers and reinsurers will be unable to pay claims in respect of existing policies in these sectors,” the statement continued.  

The Foreign Secretary said the new sanctions will apply further economic pressure on Russia. 

“Banning Russian flagged planes from the UK and making it a criminal offense to fly them will inflict more economic pain on Russia and those close to the Kremlin,” the Foreign Secretary said. 

“We will continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, economically, and defensively in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion, and work to isolate Russia on the international stage,” she added. 

Source: Aerotime Hub

The Russian government has prepared a draft decree that could allow Russian airlines to pay for leased aircraft in roubles throughout 2022. 

However, if a foreign lessor decides to terminate a leasing contract and requests that the aircraft be returned earlier than specified in a leasing agreement, the airline will have a right to continue flying the plane, according to Interfax.ru.  

Under a new law drafted by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation on March 10, 2022, the decision to terminate lease agreements and return aircraft to foreign lessors will be overseen by a special government commission, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov. Without the commission’s decision, Russian carriers will be allowed to continue operating the leased aircraft and the leased planes. 

Russia’s Ministry of Transport also proposed that aircraft are expected to be insured and reinsured by Russian insurance organizations under the same conditions specified in the contract. 

The draft decree will apply to all aircraft lease agreements concluded before February 24, 2022. 

Western sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine require foreign lessors to terminate lease contracts in Russia by March 28, 2022. However, foreign leasing companies are unlikely to be able to reclaim aircraft from Russia while the conflict in Ukraine continues. 

On March 7, 2022, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) issued a host of recommendations for airlines in an attempt to negate Western sanctions.  

Russian authorities have recommended airlines avoid operating to foreign destinations with leased aircraft in order to mitigate the likelihood of planes being seized while on the ground outside of Russia. The authorities have also discussed re-registering aircraft owned by foreign lessors, effectively nationalizing the aircraft, and have urged operators to keep all technical documents to hand. 

Source: Aerotime Hub

The latest data from ForwardKeys reveals that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused an immediate stall in flight bookings to Europe and within Russia domestically.

In its second public analysis since the outbreak of war, ForwardKeys compared flight bookings in the week following the invasion, February 24th-March 2nd, to the previous seven days.

Excluding Ukraine and Moldova, which closed their air space, and Russia and Belarus, which were subjected to flight bans and safety warnings, the destinations worst affected were generally those closest to the conflict.

Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia all saw a 30-50 per cent collapse in bookings.

All the other European countries, except for Belgium, Iceland, and Serbia, which saw single digit drops, experienced a decline in bookings between ten and 30 per cent.

Domestic flight bookings in Russia fell 49 per cent.

Analysis by source market shows that intra-European air traffic was worse affected than transatlantic travel.

Flight bookings within Europe fell 23 per cent, whereas they fell 13 per cent from the USA.

The only European air corridor left open to Russia is via Serbia, which is now acting as a gateway.

This is most clearly demonstrated by an immediate uplift in seat capacity between Russia and Serbia in March and by the profile of bookings.

Seat capacity scheduled in the first week of March shows around 50 per cent increase in available seats for flights from Russia to Serbia, compared to February 21st (before full scale military operations began).

Some 60 per cent more flight tickets were issued for travel from Russia to another destination via Serbia in the week immediately after the invasion, than there were in the whole of January.

Also, in January, 85 per cent of transfers from Russia via Serbia were to Montenegro; in the week after the invasion, the figure was 40 per cent, as Serbia became a hub for onward travel to Cyprus, France, Switzerland, Italy and elsewhere.

Olivier Ponti, vice president, insights, ForwardKeys, said: “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has made an immediate impact, stalling what had been a strong recovery in travel since early January.

“What I find surprising is that transatlantic travel and western European destinations have been less badly affected than I feared – North Americans can tell the difference between war in Ukraine and war in Europe, and so far, it seems that travellers regard the rest of Europe as relatively safe.

“There is also a strong pent-up demand.

“What’s most notable is the speed with which Serbia has become the gateway for travel between Russia and Europe.

“However, these are early days in a global political and economic crisis; so, what happens to travel will certainly be affected by the progress of the war and the impact of sanctions.

“Over the coming weeks, I expect we will see inflation and possible fuel supply issues pulling back what would otherwise be a strong post-pandemic recovery, as Covid-19 travel restrictions are progressively lifted.”

Source: Breaking Travel News

An increasingly competitive landscape and high airfreight costs have put pressure on air cargo in some landlocked parts of Africa.

Most African shipments are perishables, but for mining economies such as Zambia, which is landlocked in southern Africa, mining-related materials, as a percentage of total imports, have declined in recent years.

Generally, there has been a steady decline of imports and exports since 2018 in the country. Imports to year-end 2021 were down 25%, and exports down 15% over the same period, according to data from NAC2000 Corporation, the only ISAGO registered and certified airport ground services provider in Zambia.

“We observed that due to absence of capacity and prohibitive airfreight cost we have seen mining equipment being progressively sourced and stored via sea and road through depots in South Africa, and trucked within the region, with most non-urgent mining cargo sent by sea and road, much less by airfreight,” said Jonathan Lewis, managing director at NAC2000.

Additional data shows that imports are reducing from a ratio of 80% imports and 20% exports in 2018 to 70:30% respectively in 2021, due mainly to an increase in export volumes primarily in fruit, vegetables and flowers, mainly to the UK and EU, and to a lesser extent regional shipments of live chicks and hatching eggs. Imports were mainly bolstered by an influx of pharmaceuticals and PPE due to the pandemic, but Covid vaccines remain of negligible volumes and have no meaningful impact on import figures.

With GDP across Africa expected to double in 20 years, air travel will inevitably lead to increased trade, and consequently air cargo will benefit – but trade barriers between African countries have historically hindered progress. But now with agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) there is hope for more intra-African trade.

Increased continental trade could foster a more competitive manufacturing sector to create opportunities for industries, including air freight and associated handling.

“My concern is the pace at which this will happen for airfreight regionally,” said Mr Lewis. “I believe that there is potential to leap forward the pace of this trade and development through airfreight, especially for perishable and urgent cargo.”

Mr Lewis reckoned AfCFTA will have less impact for air freight without deliberate implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) and developing more point-to-point routes within the region and continent. “It would be advantageous for Africa’s air transport industry stakeholders to get in on this forecasted movement of cargo with competitive rates, capacity and routes.”

Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa were the most affected in terms of capacity due to the flight restrictions that were imposed on the region at the outset of the Covid Omicron variant. Most cargo from Zambia typically moves on passenger services with regular scheduled services operated by Ethiopian, Kenya Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways and SAA.

Typically, in the Zambian context, monthly passenger numbers rise by 25% in December each year, but in the aftermath of the flight restrictions from the Omicron variant December 2021 saw a fall in aircraft handling, with a 36% dip in monthly passenger numbers, and overall, 64% less than the pre-Covid passenger levels. Mr Lewis reported that cargo had equally been adversely affected, down by 15% in December compared to pre-Covid, but strikingly January 2022 was down by 40%, to its lowest in seven years.

Mr Lewis explained that costs went up as players monopolised routes, drowning out the usual strong demand for perishable exports – but not the premium in freight charges.

“Knee-jerk reactions are very dangerous to our export freight supply chain that supports the perishable exports industry. If it is damaged by an unfeasible supply chain, it will take years to recover – or they could lose their businesses all together.”

Looking ahead, Mr Lewis believed the sector should be looking at sustained, stable growth at manageable rates, otherwise the ever-important flora and horticulture export industry for one will face even more challenges in the future.

Source: The Lordstar

More than 15 flights were on Wednesday night redirected from Kenya’s main airport to as far as Dar es Salaam after a plane stalled, putting its single runway under the spotlight.

The incident, which started at 5 pm, caused a four-hour delay in landings and takeoffs.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) says nine flights that were due to land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) were diverted to Mombasa, three to Kilimanjaro, two to Entebbe and one to Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar.

The aviation agency says four more aircraft that were due for departure to different destinations were also delayed.

The delays were occasioned when an aircraft belonging to Fly 540 developed a mechanical hitch on the front wheel, hampering all the activities on the airside.

The incident will lead to hotel booking refunds for affected passengers who were on transit and could have missed their flights following the incident.

KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe said several attempts by engineering teams from different airlines to remove the stuck aircraft on the runway faced challenges as they were keen not to damage the nose wheel, which had malfunctioned.

“Several attempts to remove the aircraft by engineers was challenging, taking into account the need to avoid breakage of the nose wheel. It took four hours 30 minutes to remove the aircraft and resume normal operations,” said Mr Kibe.

This is just one of the many incidents that have seen flights at JKIA diverted to other airports following paralysis caused by a disabled aircraft on the runway.

In 2018, The Phoenix plane that was flying from Ukunda, Kwale County, developed a mechanical problem on the runway on JKIA following issues with its landing gear, causing a major delay that saw several flights diverted to other airports.

Kenya was supposed to expand the airport with the construction of the Green Field Terminal. However, the plans were cancelled by Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia.

The JKIA runway is 4,117 metres long and 45 metres wide with 15 metres paved shoulders, making it a code E runway that can handle wide-body aircraft, including the Boeing B747.

JKIA was built in the 1970s to handle 2.5 million passengers annually but is struggling to handle more than six million people a year as its regional importance grows.

Source: Business Daily

The Kenyan Government has tasked Seabury Consulting, part of Accenture, to help Kenya Airways evaluate options to restructure its debt. The retention of an international aviation consultant to prepare an in-depth financial assessment of Kenya Airways was highlighted as essential for the country’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) strategy in a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June 2021.

“Given the special circumstances and uncertainty facing the global airline industry, Kenya Airways has retained an international aviation expert to assist in defining a set of strategies for its future. Kenya Airways has experienced losses in recent years and faces significant future challenges. Sector-specific expertise will contribute to a better understanding of major trends in the regional and local aviation market, the formulation of a viable business model for Kenya Airways and ensure the consideration of all least cost alternatives for the Exchequer,” the IMF said.

Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka was not immediately available for comment.

The move comes as government plans to inject another KES26.56 billion shillings (USD233.7 million) into the debt-ridden carrier and other parastatals, according to supplementary budget estimates by the National Treasury presented to Parliament.

This comes on top of KES53.4 billion (USD470 million) in direct budget support already allocated to the airline for the fiscal year ending June 2022, with the government having promised to absorb KES92.5 billion (USD814 million) of its debts accumulated by the end of 2020.

The extra allocation to the airline and other parastatals constitutes the highest of the National Treasury’s extra spending of KES108.5 billion (USD954.9 million) in the fiscal year ending June 2022, aimed at alleviating unforeseen expenditure due to a drought in parts of the country, security, a petrol subsidy, payments for COVID-19 vaccines, and a general election in August, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani told the Kenyan Parliament. It also represents a 3.3% increase in the national budget presented in April 2021, thus raising the country’s fiscal deficit from 7.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 8.1%, reported Business Daily.

Kenya’s Business Daily reported the airline needs funds for the maintenance of grounded aircraft, payment of salaries, and the settling of utility bills, and to ease the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel demand. Kenya Airways is at risk of running out of funds amid reluctance by commercial banks to extend further liquidity.

The government, which owns 48.9% of the airline, last year decided to reverse earlier plans for its renationalisation.

Source: Ch-aviation

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) continues its campaign to reboot the airline industry and is again calling on governments to relax travel restrictions further as COVID-19 evolves from the pandemic to the endemic stage. IATA wants all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) removed for fully vaccinated travelers.

“With the experience of the Omicron variant, there is mounting scientific evidence and opinion opposing the targeting of travelers with restrictions and country bans to control the spread of COVID-19. The measures have not worked,” said IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh.

“Today, omicron is present in all parts of the world. That’s why travel, with very few exceptions, does not increase the risk to general populations. The billions spent testing travelers would be far more effective if allocated to vaccine distribution or strengthening health care systems.”

Airline capacity still lagging around the world

According to airline analytics consultancy OAG, global airline capacity this week (measured by the number of available seats) is now 25.5% behind the same week in 2019. However, the current capacity is tracking above the equivalent weeks in 2020 and 2021. The bulk of the current capacity is in domestic markets, currently just 11% below the comparable 2019 period. International capacity remains 48% down on the equivalent 2019 period.

Outright border bans in some countries and complex and costly testing and/or quarantine regimes in other countries can make international travel an unattractive proposition to most travelers. That’s having direct flow-through effects on airlines.

Except for Central and Western Africa (where overall airline capacity has increased 4.8% compared to the same week in 2019), current available capacity continues to lag 2019 levels in every other airline market worldwide. In some markets, including Central and Upper South America, there is a relatively small, single-figure gap. In key markets like North America, Western Europe, and North-East Asia, capacity is currently down by 12.5%, 36.5%, and 20.6%, respectively.

Regional airline organizations echo IATA’s view

The biggest regional laggards are the South East Asian and South-West Pacific markets, where capacity is down 47.1% and 49.9%. Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines Director-General Subhas Menon says this is due to strict border measures imposed throughout the region and the emergence of the omicron variant. Mr Menon is singing from the same songsheet as Willie Walsh.

“For meaningful recovery to take place, border restrictions would need to be eased on a consistent basis, and the current multi-layered travel requirements streamlined and simplified for travelers,” he says.

IATA gets behind recent research studies

While there is a clear commercial imperative for Mr Walsh’s 290 member airlines to boost the amount of flying they do, IATA cites a recently published study by Oxera and Edge Health that demonstrates the minimal impact of travel restrictions on controlling travel restrictions the spread of omicron.

The study was specific to the UK. However, it found that the absence of any on arrival testing measures for travelers would have seen the omicron wave peak seven days earlier with an overall 8% increase in cases. Critically, now that omicron is highly prevalent in the UK, if all travel testing requirements were removed, there would be no impact on omicron case numbers or hospitalizations in the UK.

“It is clear that travel restrictions in any part of the world have had little impact on the spread of COVID-19, including the omicron variant. The UK, France, and Switzerland have recognized this and are among the first to begin removing travel measures. More governments need to follow their lead,” said Mr Walsh.

IATA’s Director General argues other governments removing barriers to travel will not only help normalize the airline industry, but it will help the world learn to live with COVID.

Source: Simple Flying