INSIDE TRAVEL
Getting South Africans safely back in the air Will the battered aviation industry be able to rebuild and regain its place in the world economy after a devastating 2020?
R
ebuilding confidence and showing travellers that it is safe to fly, is critical if the battered aviation industry is to regain its place in the world economy after a devastating 2020. But there is already an abundance of green shoots forming after Covid-19 brought the industry to its knees mid-2020, Aviation Coordination Services (ACS) chief executive officer Duke Phahla believes. The vision of a trusted vaccine in 2021 fills him with hope that the darkest days in the industry now belong to the past. “We need to have hope, and provide confidence to win back the masses,” he said. “Already, unique opportunities are forming with new players such as Lift entering the market. Novel technologies in
areas such as the self-service kiosk are also emerging from the ashes, keeping our system up-time in check, ensuring travellers that they will travel with ease in the future. Some airlines have emerged stronger after the slump, such as FlySafair, who actually grew their market share.” “The pandemic affected the entire globe. But I’m pleased to see that the recovery is beating the forecasted numbers that organisations such as the Bureau of Economic Research predicted.” In the darkest of days, Mr Phahla said he realised that the virus had hit the reset button in his industry and that things would not be the same again; the same had happened to the industry post 9/11 with 100 per cent HBS (hold baggage screening) which became a regulation.
4 Business Events Africa January 2021
A vaccine will give travellers the necessary confidence to travel without concerns, Mr Phahla believes. Coal face of travel ACS is at the coal face of travel in South African airports as baggage screeners, while also managing the Baggage Reconciliation System, commonly use terminal equipment and self-service kiosks. The company, through its systems, enables the platform, ensuring that passengers’ bags board the flight with them, or that the bags are evicted from the plane if a passenger is not on board. Mr Phahla remembers that at the beginning of the year - before the Coronavirus crisis hit - around 46,000 passengers per day passed through OR www.businesseventsafrica.com
