African Airlines’ Traffic Reaches 98.4% of Pre-Pandemic Level in August 2023: AFRAA

The African Airlines’ Performance report for August 2023 has been released by the African Airlines Association, AFRAA.

African airlines carried 98.4% of 2019 traffic. Domestic market share estimated: 34%, intra-Africa: 29%, intercontinental: 37%. African airlines exceeded pre-COVID intercontinental routes since October 2022.

According to the report, some major airports (Johannesburg, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Lusaka, Cairo, Casablanca, Abidjan, and Lomé) intra-Africa connectivity has reached or exceeded pre-Covid level since December 2022.

Airline Revenue Gap Narrows in 2023

2023 is witnessing a narrowing of the airline revenue gap attributed to Covid-19 compared to 2022. In the first three months of the year, African airlines missed the levels attained in a similar period in 2019 by US$0.3 billion. This is expected to further narrow in the second quarter to US$0.2 billion, according to AFRAA data. Though full-year estimated revenue gap is yet to be computed, it appears 2023 would be a better year compared to the prior year. The 2022 full-year cumulative airlines revenue gap was US$3.5 billion for all African airlines compared to 2019.

Jet A1 Price Continues Upward Trend

The Jet A1 price continues the upward trend, going up by over $22 in one month. The global weekly average jet fuel price during the week ending 25 August 2023 was up 2.9% at $126.37/bbl. In July, the average weekly price was $103.64/bbl.

Blocked Funds Reduced Marginally

The industry’s blocked funds reduced marginally in July to $2.200 billion compared to $2.274 billion in June. Some 22 countries account for the blocked funds globally. 14 of the blocked funds countries are in Africa, accounting for about 70% of total blocked funds.

Full Report: AFRAA