The International Air Cargo Association (Tiaca) has raised concerns about the significant 70% drop in capacity from Africa to Europe which is putting perishable exports at risk. The figure is based on research by CLIVE Data Services.
The organisation has encouraged African airlines to put passenger freighter systems in place, such as those implemented by the likes of Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, SAA and Rwandair.
“Collaboration and cooperation between African airlines across their respective fleets and networks are both essential so we can overcome the challenges we are facing,” said Sanjeev Gadhia, Tiaca vice chairman and CEO of Astral Aviation.
According to Gadhia, a concrete example is the drop in capacity for Nairobi’s perishables exports to Europe from 5 000 tons to 1 800 tons per week. This, he said, would have disastrous effects on the agriculture sector in Kenya, which is yet to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tiaca has called on the air cargo community in Africa to formulate a recovery plan that will enable it to sustain the shocks of the pandemic.
