The aviation sector was the worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic last year, as the number of international arrivals fell by 71.5 per cent to 579,600, and air passenger traffic dropped from 12 million in 2019 to 4.5 million.
This resulted from the Covid-19 containment measures placed by the government locally, and across the world, causing the grounding of many aircraft by airlines.
The Economic Survey 2021 indicates that international passenger traffic last year dropped by 70.4 per cent from 7.1 million in 2019 to 2.1 million, as the number of domestic passengers decreased by more than half, from 4.9 million in 2019 to 2.3 million in 2020.
“The number of passengers handled at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) dropped by 65.9 per cent from 8.2 million in 2019 to 2.8 million in 2020. Similarly, the number of passengers handled at Moi International Airport (MIA) dropped by more than half from 1.5 million in 2019 to 0.7 million in 2020,” the report stated.
Subsequently, the value of output from the air transport sub-sector reduced by 48.7 per cent to Sh111 billion in 2020.
The report reveals that total volume of cargo handled at airports decreased by 8.9 per cent from 374,700 tonnes in 2019 to 341,400 tonnes in 2020, while loaded cargo traffic declined by 12.9 per cent from 290,200 tonnes in 2019 to 252,900 tonnes in 2020 mainly due to closure of European airports to horticulture.
“Cargo traffic handled at JKIA dropped by 8.1 per cent from 357,300 tonnes in 2019 to 327,900 tonnes in 2020. Cargo traffic handled at MIA declined by more than half from 3,100 tonnes in 2019 to 1,400 tonnes in 2020,” the report stated.
Other domestic airports experienced a 15.4 per cent decline in cargo traffic from 14,300 tonnes in 2019 to 12,100 tonnes in 2020.
Total aircraft movements declined by 47 per cent from 375,499 in 2019 to 199,013 in 2020, while total landings dropped by 46.8 per cent to 83,548 and total take-offs reduced by 46.9 per cent to 84,779 in 2020.
But as aircraft remained grounded for months, the report shows there was a 52.2 per cent growth in the number of Approved Maintenance Organisations (AMOs) from 69 in 2019 to 105 in 2020.
In the International trade scene, the survey shows total volume of trade declined to Sh2.28 trillion in 2020 from Sh2.4 trillion in 2019, following a higher decline in imports coupled with a moderate growth in total exports. Eventually, this reduced the trade deficit from Sh1,209.7 billion in 2019 to Sh999.9 billion in 2020.
“Net inflows of international trade in services decreased by 79.0 per cent from a surplus of Sh178.0 billion in 2019 to a surplus of Sh37.5 billion in 2020,” the report showed.
Diaspora remittances remained among the most resilient sectors, recording an increase to Sh330.8 billion in 2020 from Sh289.5 billion in 2019.
On the other hand, net financial inflows declined by 43.0 per cent from Sh607.6 billion in 2019 to Sh346.5 billion in 2020 and net foreign direct investment inflows declined by 11.9 per cent to a surplus of Sh77.1 billion.
