After several difficult years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, air activity is resuming in Africa. Continental companies will divide their debts by three in 2023.
The year that is ending has been terrible for African airlines. 2023 should be better, despite figures still in the red. The International Air Transport Association (Iata) predicts, for next year, losses estimated at 213 million dollars. If the figure can make you dizzy, it is in no way comparable to the losses of 2022. Indeed, Iata claims that, for this year alone and for African companies, the cumulative losses will reach 638 million dollars.
Despite still substantial losses, the African aviation sector is doing quite well after the global health crisis. The coronavirus pandemic had indeed raised fears of the worst: in March 2020, the same Iata predicted losses of up to 40 billion dollars for African companies.
Before the pandemic, Iata had already forecast losses of nearly 200 million dollars, due to the doubling of operating costs compared to the world average and a low occupancy rate. The estimate for 2023 therefore represents a return to normal, even if a structural problem remains. With the exception of Ethiopian Airlines, all African airlines are in the red.
The fault, according to the experts, to the state companies put on a drip and to the bad strategies of the African States which, followers of protectionism, want to lock their aerial skies. Companies that are often poorly managed and loss-making, therefore, as summarized by Stacy Ndlovu, in her book “African Liberty”.
But the mismanagement of the companies is not the only explanation for the collapse of the sector. The difficulties of the air in China, which shows heavy losses this year, does not help Africa which, in recent years, has largely turned to Asia.
Africa "is particularly exposed to macroeconomic headwinds which have increased the vulnerability of several economies and made connectivity more complex", indicates in its document the Iata which therefore evokes inflation, the cost of fuels or even more. overall the global crisis.
The organization forecasts, for 2022 and 2023, a load factor in clear progression, thanks to an increase in demand not accompanied by the development of the airline fleet. Connectivity "is being restored, but it will take more time to regain pre-Covid frequencies and capacities", however nuances Iata, which affirms that "the real costs of transport surprisingly continue their downward trajectory, which which contributes to the recovery of traffic and connectivity”.