Air Transport’s Contribution To GDP Drops By 11.8% – NBS

Air transport’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter of 2021 sunk by 11.78 per cent.

A quarterly report published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday showed that air transport under services GDP contracted by 11.78 per cent compared to 51.69 per cent in the last quarter of 2020.

According to the NBS, air transport GDP for the first quarter of 2020 contracted by 5.68 per cent.

Experts have attributed the slump in the quarterly report to the decline in air passenger traffic.

Chief Executive Officer, Mainstream Cargo Limited, Seyi Adewale, said the contraction in the GDP could be attributed to the reduction in passenger traffic.

According to him, the suspension of Emirates airline by the Federal Government was also a contributing factor.

He also noted that the suspension of Azman Air contributed to the slump, explaining that the routes could not be easily replaced.

“The cost of tickets is also a factor to consider since it may take time for air passengers to accept and adjust to higher fares,” he said.

Travel expert, Olubiyi Oluwajoba said the restriction in movement for investors and business owners had affected the performance of the aviation sector.

“Most companies have now adopted the use of zoom and other apps for their meetings, instead of a physical meeting,” he said.

He explained that companies no longer sent members of their staff overseas for business meetings due to COVID-19.

Oluwajoba said the contracting performance of the aviation sector was not limited to Nigeria alone as it was a global issue.