The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has called for harmonized adoption across Africa of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Take-Off guidance for safe operations amid the COVID-19 crisis.
IATA said the guidance was key to the continent’s safe resumption of flights which have largely remained grounded for a lengthy bit of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The top and immediate priority for aviation in Africa is implementing ICAO’s Take-off guidance. That is the key to removing the severe restrictions on movement that have grounded much of the continent’s air transport industry and severely impacted individual jobs and national economies,” said Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East (AME).
“Planning for recovery from COVID-19’s economic destruction also presents an opportunity for governments to draw even greater benefits from aviation by opening African borders for African aviation. That transformation change could turbo-charge the recovery by strengthening economic ties and creating jobs in ways that only aviation can achieve,” he added.
Africa’s aviation sector took a battering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as many airlines grounded their fleets.
IATA estimated earlier this year that African Airlines could lose $6 billion of passenger revenue in 2020 compared to 2019.
The body added that full-year 2020 traffic could plummet by 51% compared to 2019. Previous estimate was a fall of 32%.
It also warned that more than 8.6 million people risked losing their jobs in the AME airline industry and businesses supported by aviation due to the lockdowns in place.
IATA on Wednesday said resuming aviation safely in Africa by implementing ICAO’s Take-Off guidance was essential to get the continent’s economies up and running.
The guidelines include adequate physical distancing, wearing face masks or coverings, enhanced sanitation and disinfection, health screening, contact tracing and the use of passenger health declaration forms.
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