Nairobi — African airlines are on a steady recovery recording increased traffic and capacity in March, new data shows.

According to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), the traffic carried by African airlines reached 94.8 per cent of the full year 2019 level in the month as more international routes reopened.

AFRAA noted that the domestic market share of the traffic was at 37 per cent, intra-Africa at 31 per cent and intercontinental at 32 per cent.

The Association estimates that by end 2023, total passengers carried by African airlines will reach 85 million, this being about 10 million short of the full year 2019 passenger traffic.

In March 2023, the AFRAA data shows that the total number of intercontinental routes operated by African airlines exceeded pre-Covid levels since October 2022

"In 8 African airports (Johannesburg, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Lusaka, Cairo, Casablanca, Abidjan and Lome) intra-Africa connectivity reached or exceeded pre-Covid level since December 2022," AFRAA noted.

Further, AFRAA noted that the year 2023 is witnessing a narrowing of the airline revenue gap compared to 2022.

In the first 3 months of the year, African airlines missed the levels attained in a similar period in 2019 by USD0.3 billion.

This is expected to further narrow in the second quarter to USD0.2 billion according to AFRAA.

"Though the full-year estimated revenue gap is yet to be computed, it appears 2023 will be a better year compared to the prior year," AFRAA noted.

The 2022 full year revenue loss was US$3.5 billion for all African airlines combined.

In March, Jet A1 price continued the downward trend with the global average price per barrel in the last week of March reaching USD102.5.

However, this trend changed to a surge in April following the OPEC producers' announcement of plans to cut crude output.