The aviation sector was the worst hit by the Covid-19 pandemic last year, with international arrivals falling by 71.5 per cent to 579,600, and air passenger traffic dropping from 12 million in 2019 to 4.5 million.
This was as a result of the Covid-19 containment measures placed by the government and others across the world that saw aircraft grounded for extended periods of time.
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 states.
Subsequently, the value of output from the air transport sub-sector reduced by 48.7 per cent to Sh111.0 billion in 2020.
The report reveals that total volume of cargo handled at airports decreased by 8.9 per cent to 341,400 tonnes in 2020 from 374,700 tonnes in 2019, while loaded cargo traffic declined by 12.9 per cent from 290,200 tonnes to 252,900 tonnes mainly due to closure of European airports to horticultural produce.
“Cargo traffic handled at JKIA dropped by 8.2 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 to 1,400 tonnes,” states the report.
Other local airports experienced a 15.4 per cent decline in cargo traffic from 14,300 tonnes in 2019 to 12,100 tonnes 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 major decline in imports and a moderate growth in exports. This reduced the trade deficit from Sh1,209.7 billion in 2019 to Sh999.9 billion in 2020.
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 per cent from Sh607.6 billion in 2019 to Sh346.5 billion and net foreign direct investment inflows declined by 11.9 per cent to a surplus of Sh77.1 billion.
