Covid-19, time for aviation sector to introspect

Herald reporter
Leading aviation industry expert Winnie Muchanyuka believes it will take some time for airlines to bounce back from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, but adds that the effect on their bottom line and the economy will not be cataclysmic.

Speaking in an interview on UltimateTourism Chat, Muchanyuka, the Tourism Business Council of Zimbabwe (TBCZ) president, encouraged aviation players to use the downtime to reflect on effective business models.

Muchanyuka, is also the country director for South African Airways.

Her views come as the International Air Transport Association said potential revenue loss by carriers in Africa and the Middle East had reached US$23 billion (US$19 billion in the Middle East and US$4 billion in Africa).

This translates into a drop of industry revenues of 32 percent for Africa and 39 percent for the Middle East for 2020 as compared to 2019.

“It is crucial at this time as business we take this downtime to reflect and check our system and see how we have been conducting business pre-Covid-19,” said Muchanyuka. “Are they areas we can improve, just to relook our business and see how we improve on efficiency, be innovative and use this time to think outside the hustle and bustle of normal operations.

“We going to have to cut back post Covid-19 to be able to recover. Its inevitable. Business at this time need to look at how they are going to market their product and services, what product and services are going to be critical for companies to get back as quickly as possible and start operations again.”

The Covid-19 outbreak, which has virtually ground global air travel, has seen Zimbabwe’s state-owned airline, Air Zimbabwe, put workers on indefinite unpaid leave after revenue dried up.