Aviation in Southern African region is the lowest performing in the African continent. This emerged at the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Wings of Change Focus Africa Conference currently under way in Johannesburg.
South African Airways (SAA) attributed this to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic amongst other factors.
Meanwhile, SAA says the aviation sector is faced with policy coordination crisis.
The airline says this has led to the poor performance of the national airline.
The airline has also raised concerns regarding the impact of dissolution of the Department of Public Enterprises under the new government.
According to new reconfigured ministries, SAA will now be placed under the Presidency.
“The fact that the place that South Africa has within the economic ecosystem of the region that’s besides economic performance but that policy decisions that are taking place in South Africa are having a negative effect or results on the performance of the aviation sector in the entire Southern Africa,” says Prof John Lamola, SAA Interim CEO.
SAA says the high cost of operation in the African aviation industry is making it difficult for many of the continent’s airlines to compete and offer competitive prices to passengers.
SAA has not posted net profit in many years. The airline like many others is also facing the rising cost of aircraft leasing due to ongoing shortage of aircrafts globally.
“Many African airlines and South African Airways in particular, operate the least aircraft and currently because of the shortage of aircraft in the market, it is an investors market. It’s more expensive now to lease aircraft that we are operating now and most of those of the cost is then transferred to consumers, hence our passenger tickets then they look like they are higher than normal,” Lamola adds.
The continent has the highest cost for fuel, taxes and air navigation in the world.
The International Air Transport Association says the aviation industry should adopt a growth strategy through radical collaboration that will lead to a creation of jobs in the continent.
