Africa

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released updated analysis showing that the COVID-19 crisis will see airline passenger revenues drop by $314 billion in 2020, a 55% decline compared to 2019.

Routes' latest update on how airlines and airports across the Middle East and Africa are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aeronautical engineers from Paramount Group, the African-based aerospace and technology company, have teamed up with emergency doctors at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital in Johannesburg, for the design and production of an innovative ‘intubox’ that will help protect frontline healthcare workers when treating patients, who are suffering from COVID-19.

South African Airways (SAA), has collaborated with the Government of Canada through the High Commission of Canada in South Africa, to assist Canadians who were stranded in South Africa to return home, after the lockdown was implemented in response to the outbreak of the coronavirus, which resulted in travel restrictions.

This week's Arabian Aerospace podcast looks at an innovative use of drone technology underway in Abu Dhabi.

While Africa remains the continent least-affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, almost every nation now has confirmed cases of the disease and numbers are increasing. Health experts consider Africa as a whole to be a few weeks behind most of the rest of the world in terms of the spread of the disease.

Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services is adapting its operations to the evolving global demand for air cargo services following the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the first time in its history, the Cargo division of South African Airways, SAA Cargo, operated a passenger aircraft for a pure cargo uplift.

Airbus has said it is now revising its production rates downwards to adapt to the new Coronavirus market environment.

With MRO industry revenues directly related to aircraft utilisation, 2020’s total MRO spend will be less than half of the approximately $90bn forecasted, according to the leading aviation data and advisory company IBA.

The International Air Transport Association has released new analysis showing that some 25 million jobs are at risk of disappearing with plummeting demand for air travel amid the COVID-19 crisis, of which, 2.0 million jobs are at risk in Africa.

An Air Serv aircraft is on the ground in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR) to support humanitarian operations there.

Airbus is temporarily adapting commercial aircraft production and assembly activity at its German sites in Bremen and Stade and pausing production at its A220/A320 manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama in the United States.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced the release of the 2019 Safety Report showing continuing improvements in airline safety compared to 2018 and to the preceding five years.

Airbus continues to purchase and supply millions of face masks from China, the large majority of which will be donated to governments of the Airbus home countries, namely France, Germany, Spain and the UK.

South African state-owned aerospace and military technology conglomerate Denel is mobilising its resources and expertise towards a priority project for the local design and development of medical ventilators in support of the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Middle East Airlines, Air Liban, yesterday commenced its repatriation flights after receiving the required approvals from the competent authorities following the covid-19 pandemic.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced the postponement of the 76th Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit. The event had been scheduled to take place on 22-23 June in Amsterdam.

Rolls-Royce is publishing, for free, its world-class digital skills training programme to help people and businesses around the world prepare for a potentially digital-centric recovery from COVID-19.

Boeing has conducted a productive and successful first flight of the second 777X aircraft.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the Universal Postal Union (UPU) warned that air capacity for postal services is insufficient and urged governments to do more to support the movement of mail by air during the COVID-19 crisis.

Muhammed Ali Albakri, IATA Regional Vice President Africa, Middle East, talks about the latest cash and government challenges for a beleaguered aviation industry.

Following IATA’s latest analysis of demand for passenger air transport based on traffic data for February 2020 when there was a 14% plunge in demand (compared with Feb 2019), as the COVID-19 and associated travel restrictions began to be introduced, African airlines saw a 1.1% drop in traffic versus a 5.6% traffic increase recorded in January and the weakest outcome since 2015.

Key industry partners have launched the MRO Blockchain Alliance, the air transport’s first industry-wide investigation into the use of blockchain to track, trace and record aircraft parts.

The International Air Transport Association strengthened its call for urgent action from governments in Africa and the Middle East to provide financial relief to airlines as the latest IATA scenario for potential revenue loss by carriers in Africa and the Middle East reached US$23 billion (US$19 billion in the Middle East and US$4 billion in Africa).