Wondering what SA's busiest routes were in 2020 – a time when air travel was virtually non-existent?
Well, a report by African Airlines Association (Afraa) has highlighted some of the busiest 10 domestic routes.
The Air Transport Report 2020 revealed that 6 of the 10 busiest domestic routes in Africa were within South Africa. Western Africa featured in three routes: Abuja – Lagos, Lagos – Port Harcourt and Kumasi – Accra.
South Africa’s airline industry suffered tremendously last year due to the country’s lockdown regulations. For months flights were grounded, which had severe financial implications for domestic airlines.
When it finally started to pick up, many routes were in demand.
Most of the routes were connected with Johannesburg.
These include Johannesburg – Cape Town, Durban – Johannesburg, Cape Town – Durban, Johannesburg – Gqeberha, Johannesburg – George and East London – Johannesburg.
South Africa also featured in the intra-African routes ranking. The routes included Gaborone – Johannesburg, Johannesburg – Bulawayo and Harare – Johannesburg.
Unfortunately, the country did not make it on the ranking of the intercontinental routes due to the travel bans.
However, the top 10 shows positive air traffic between north Africa and the Middle East, particularly from Cairo.
Overall, the report revealed that Johannesburg remains the most connected airport, according to the intra-African connectivity index 2020.
Johannesburg and Cairo were the busiest airports in Africa.
Bleak 2020
The report shows the devastating effects of the pandemic on air travel.
The Air Transport Report 2020 revealed that the passenger revenue loss in Africa was estimated at $10.21 billion, while an estimated overall passenger revenue loss of $8.35bn is expected for 2021.
In southern Africa, the drop in traffic reached 63.6% compared to 2019.
Read the full report here.