After South Africa endured one of the strictest lockdowns globally and experienced harsh travel bans in December 2021, the recent rise in air traffic indicates that things could be returning to normal.
Cape Town International. Picture: Airports Company South Africa/ Flickr
More than two years have passed since the onset of the pandemic and Cape Town International Airport has seen a recovery rate of 76% in international travellers, and 75% in domestic travel during April when compared to the same period in 2019.
‘The recovery of Cape Town’s visitor economy is a major gain for the city’s economy even though we haven’t yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels,’ commented Alderman James Vos.
According to a report by the International Air Transport Association (Iata), Africa’s air-traffic recovery is predicted to fair poorly, with passenger numbers 40% below the global average between February 2021 and February 2022.
But Cape Town’s passengers for April have already reached the Iata prediction of 76% for 2022, with 27 000 passengers passing through Cape Town International during the last weekend of April. Airport Companies South Africa forecasts that there will be a further recovery of 15% and 22% in domestic and international recovery respectively, surpassing Iata’s prediction.
‘Given that the sector contributes between 2% and 3.5% annually (pre-Covid) to the local economy and sustains up to 5% of all jobs in the city…. we must do all we can to support local tourism,’ Vos added.
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