Aviation sector projected to recover fully in Q2 2022

COVID-19 impacts international travel

Stakeholders project rebound in second quarter of 2022

KIA is a key hub for international travel

The global aviation sector is projected to recover fully from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic in the second quarter of 2022, stakeholders have projected.

Over the last two years, international airlines have not been spared from the adverse impact of the pandemic due to restrictions on travel and movement.

But an Aviation Analyst with AviationGhana, Dominic Andoh is optimistic that international airlines operating at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) will witness a rebound this year.

“The top five airlines when it comes to the use of the Kotoka International Airport were almost reaching the 2019 figure. Their load factors were increasing to about 80 to 90 percent and it was good for us until Omicron just hit,” he told Citi Business News.

He further outlined that despite the emergence of the Omicron variant, vaccine availability, safety measures and protocols set in place to contain the spread of the virus at major airports will ensure the aviation sector experiences a rebound in the second quarter of 2022.

“Because of Omicron, there are some restrictions in place now. Ethiopian and a few others cannot fly to Dubai, but others are also operating. It means that in 2022 if we are able to bring Omicron under control, which I think we would because of the massive rollout of vaccines in Ghana, and some of these bans are lifted, then in the first two quarters of 2022, we should be back to our pre-pandemic levels in 2019,” Andoh explained.

While, there remains some uncertainty over new COVID-19 variants, international travel is gradually beginning to witness some uptick as economies begin to open back up.