{"id":4112,"date":"2021-09-25T15:55:59","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T15:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugandaupdatenews.com\/?p=4112"},"modified":"2021-09-25T15:56:08","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T15:56:08","slug":"iata-urges-kenya-government-to-reduce-pcr-test-fees-to-boost-air-travel-economic-recovery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/iata-urges-kenya-government-to-reduce-pcr-test-fees-to-boost-air-travel-economic-recovery\/","title":{"rendered":"IATA urges Kenya Government to Reduce PCR Test Fees to Boost Air Travel, Economic Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The International Air Transport Association (IATA) &nbsp;has urged the Kenyan government to use all mechanisms at its disposal to encourage air travel, including reductions in COVID-19 test charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cKenya\u2019s air transport recovery is stalling and requires ongoing support. Among the interventions, we are urging Kenya\u2019s government to reduce the cost of PCR tests for travelers, which, at roughly US$80 each, is significantly higher than the average in Africa,\u201d said Kamil Al Awadhi, IATA\u2019s Regional Vice President for Africa and Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe high cost of tests has become a major deterrent and a drag on the recovery of Kenya\u2019s air transport and tourism sectors. An alternative solution would be to permit the use of more cost-effective antigen tests,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Airline passenger traffic to, from and within Kenya fell by 52% in June 2021 vs June 2019. The picture was similar for the first half of 2021, with passenger volumes having declined by 54.2% as compared to the first half of 2019. The next two years should see stronger recovery as Kenya\u2019s vaccination rate improves and more countries reopen their borders to the country.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Key priorities to support and sustain the recovery of Kenya\u2019s air transport and tourism sectors include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Reducing COVID-19 test fees:<\/strong> Expensive charges and inconsistent requirements for PCR tests undermine confidence in air travel. Affordable tests will prompt more people to travel by air again. According to IATA\u2019s latest passenger survey, 86% of respondents are willing to get tested. But 70% also believe that the cost of testing is a significant barrier to travel, while 78% believe governments should bear the cost of mandatory testing.<\/li><li><strong>Digitalization of health certificates:<\/strong> As passenger numbers increase in the recovery, digitally managing travel health credentials will be essential to avoid queuing and crowding airports. The IATA Travel Pass and the African Union\u2019s Trusted Travel Pass are both tools that can help governments efficiently and conveniently verify traveler health credentials.<\/li><li><strong>Increasing intra-Africa connectivity:<\/strong> Pre-pandemic, African Union\u2019s Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) was intended to unlock travel within the continent. Post-pandemic it will provide an even more important economic boost. Full implementation of SAATM across the continent would generate significant economic benefits for Kenya, namely creating 39,000 new jobs and adding US$201 million to the country\u2019s GDP.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With low vaccination rates across Africa, the continent and its people are vulnerable and the economic recovery from COVID-19 is at risk. Moreover, with more countries lifting travel restrictions for those vaccinated, the freedom of movement will be limited until vaccines are universally available. With 1.6% of Kenya\u2019s population fully vaccinated, the challenge is particularly acute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNations, governments, politicians, and business must cooperate through COVAX so that everyone gets access to the vaccines they require, no matter where they are,\u201d said Alawadhi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Air transport holds significant economic and social importance to Kenya. Prior to the pandemic, US$3.1 billion of its GDP was attributable to its aviation sector, which employed 26,000 people and supported over 525,000 jobs in the wider economy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the peak of the Covid  crisis, air connectivity (i.e. the number of routes and the frequency with which they are served) to, from and within Kenya, fell by 91% compared to 2019, as a result of the COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions. Although part of the connectivity has since been restored, it was still 45% below pre-crisis levels at the beginning of this month. Similarly, the number of routes are still 26% below pre-crisis levels, limiting options for international and local travel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Air Transport Association (IATA) &nbsp;has urged the Kenyan government to use all mechanisms at its disposal to encourage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Kenya_1-984x554-1.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5948,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/travel-barriers-holding-back-africa-aviations-post-covid-recovery-iata\/","url_meta":{"origin":4112,"position":0},"title":"Travel barriers holding back Africa aviation&#8217;s post-Covid recovery- IATA","author":"MOSES SSERWANGA","date":"June 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Moses Sserwanga in Doha ,Qatar The IATA Africa Middle East Regional Vice -President Mr.Kamil Alawadhi has highlighted three strategic areas that will accelerate the recovery of the aviation industry in Africa following a three -year devastating Covid 19 pandemic . Mr. Kamil Alawadhi said there is need to quickly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ia-scaled.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ia-scaled.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ia-scaled.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ia-scaled.jpg 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8651,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/iatas-focus-africa-initiative-to-strengthen-aviations-contribution-to-african-development\/","url_meta":{"origin":4112,"position":1},"title":"IATA\u2019s \u201cFocus Africa initiative \u201d to Strengthen Aviation\u2019s Contribution to African Development","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 4, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Geneva\u00a0-\u00a0The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is launching \u201cFocus Africa\u201d to strengthen aviation\u2019s contribution to Africa\u2019s economic and social development and improve connectivity, safety and reliability for passengers and shippers. This initiative will align private and public stakeholders to deliver measurable progress in six areas.\u00a0\u201cAfrica accounts for 18% of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aviation&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aviation","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/aviation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/download-1.jpg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5965,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/world-air-transport-summit-opens-in-qatar-as-travel-recovery-rebuilds-airline-profitability\/","url_meta":{"origin":4112,"position":2},"title":"World Air Transport Summit opens in Qatar as Travel Recovery Rebuilds Airline Profitability","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"June 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Doha\u00a0 By Moses Sserwanga The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced an upgrade to its outlook for the airline industry\u2019s 2022 financial performance as the pace of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis quickens. Presenting the forecast at he opening of a two day 78th IATA Annual General Meeting and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Aviation&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Aviation","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/aviation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_20220620_111203_644-scaled.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_20220620_111203_644-scaled.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_20220620_111203_644-scaled.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_20220620_111203_644-scaled.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_20220620_111203_644-scaled.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14181,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/kenyas-president-ruto-to-address-global-iata-air-transport-ground-handling-conference-in-nairobi-next-month\/","url_meta":{"origin":4112,"position":3},"title":"Kenya&#8217;s President Ruto To Address Global IATA Air Transport Ground Handling Conference In Nairobi Next Month","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"April 2, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Kenya's President William Ruto is set to address the 37th International Air Transport Association (IATA) Ground Handling Conference to be held in Nairobi from 13 - 15 May 2025. Other notable key speakers will include , IATA\u2019s Director-General, Willie Walsh and Kenya Airways\u2019 CEO, Allan Kilavuka. The conference will discuss\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/national-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/download.jpeg","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11402,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/demand-for-passenger-air-travel-in-africa-rose-38-7-in-2023-vs-2022-but-load-factors-remain-the-lowest-worldwide-iata\/","url_meta":{"origin":4112,"position":4},"title":"Demand for passenger air travel in Africa rose 38.7% in 2023 vs 2022, but load factors remain the lowest worldwide &#8211; IATA","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"February 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"(Geneva)\u00a0--\u00a0The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the recovery in air travel continued in December 2023 and total 2023 traffic edged even closer to matching pre-pandemic demand.\u00a0 African airlines\u2019\u00a0annual traffic rose\u00a038.7% in 2023 versus the prior year. Full year 2023 capacity was up 38.3% and load factor climbed 0.2\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Air Travel&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Air Travel","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/air-travel\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ent.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ent.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ent.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ent.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/ent.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6627,"url":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/iata-secures-30-bn-to-support-air-transport-and-tourism-in-africa-kamil-alwadhi\/","url_meta":{"origin":4112,"position":5},"title":"IATA SECURES $30 BN TO SUPPORT AIR TRANSPORT AND TOURISM IN AFRICA BUT THE RELIEF DID NOT REACH THOSE IN NEED-KAMIL ALWADHI","author":"UgandaUpdate","date":"September 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"International Air Transport Association ( ATA ) has helped to secure pledges for $30 billion to support air transport and tourism in Africa from some governments, international finance bodies and institutions such as the African Development Bank, the African Export-Import Bank, the African Union and the International Monetary Fund but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Africa Continental News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Africa Continental News","link":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/category\/africa-continental-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/kamil.jpg","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/kamil.jpg 1x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/kamil.jpg 1.5x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/kamil.jpg 2x, https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/kamil.jpg 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0aOV-14k","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4112"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4114,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4112\/revisions\/4114"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowebinhost.com\/anzu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}