Millions of jobs at risk in Africa due to continued Covid-19 travel restrictions, industry body warns

JOHANNESBURG - The damage being done to the African aviation industry and on economies by the shutdown of air traffic, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, has deepened, warns the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Thirty-one countries in Africa are opening their borders to regional and international air travel. In 22 countries, however, passengers are still subject to a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

This effectively stops people from travelling, IATA warns.

Therefore, it calls for the systematic testing of passengers before departure. This will enable governments to safely open borders without quarantine and better support recovery efforts, in its view.

South Africa opened its borders for international commercial travel on Thursday, October 1.

All arrivals from abroad will be screened. Passengers showing any symptoms of Covid-19 will be required to stay in quarantine until they test negative for the virus. International arrivals will have to present proof of a negative coronavirus test less than 72 hours old.

If they cannot prove this, they will have to remain in mandatory quarantine at their own cost.

The SA government has also put a number of countries on a “high risk” list and leisure tourists from there will not be allowed into the country at this stage. It includes France, India, the Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland, the UK and the US.

“Quarantine measures are crippling the industry’s recovery and hampering its ability to support social and economic development. Testing for Covid-19 will enable Africa and the world to safely reconnect and recover,” said Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East, in a statement.

According to new data published on Thursday by the Air Transport Action Group, of which IATA is a member,

4.5 million African jobs will be lost in aviation and industries supported by aviation in 2020. This is well over half of the region’s 7.7 million aviation- related employment.

It is also estimated that 172, 000 jobs will be lost in aviation alone in 2020. This is about 40 percent of the region’s 440 000 aviation jobs.