African airlines have lost $4.4 billion in lost revenues as of March 11 due to the coronavirus outbreak, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Thursday as carriers on the continent are scrambling to respond to the economic effects of the outbreak. State owned airline South African Airways announced today that they will be suspending all their regional and international operations due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Rwanda Air, and Air Mauritius are among airlines that have suspended flights to China. Morocco has suspended all international flights to and from its territory “until further notice” and Kenya Airways also suspended flights to countries affected by the virus. Adefunke Adeyemi, IATA’s Regional Director for Advocacy and Strategic relations in Africa says passenger demand for Africa has reduced significantly. International bookings in Africa went down by 20% in March and April, while domestic bookings have fallen by about 15% in March and 25% in April, according to data from IATA.
SOURCE: CNN