Airlines in Africa and the Middle East received $6.84 billion in state aid last year but may require additional government support to soften Covid-19's blow on the sector, according to the International Air Transport Association.
Despite African airlines securing $2.04bn in government aid last year, eight operators on the continent filed for bankruptcy or entered into administration in the past 12 months, said Kamil Al-Awadhi, Iata’s new vice president for Africa and the Middle East.
Middle Eastern airlines received $4.8bn in state support last year, mostly through direct cash injections, Mr Al-Awadhi said on Wednesday.
African and Middle Eastern airlines “would need a little bit more this year than they did last year”, he said.
Regional airlines require funds to pay for aircraft deliveries that were postponed to this year and to cope with the coronavirus pandemic's fallout, he said.
“We hope that by the last quarter of this year, aviation will pick up substantially and that would generate enough revenue to get some of the airlines out of trouble,” said Mr Al-Awadhi.
Governments around the world have provided vital cash and other relief measures to keep their airlines afloat amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit air travel demand.
Total state aid provided by governments stands at more than $225bn.
Of this, “only a small part” was provided to airlines in the region, said Mr Al-Awadhi.
The Dubai government pledged to inject additional capital into Emirates, which has helped to transform the city into a global travel centre. However, it did not disclose the amount of financial support.
Sharjah-based Air Arabia, the UAE's only listed airline, said in March that it was holding discussions with the federal government for support should the need arise.
The airline said it did not currently need state aid as it was doing well.
Iata urged governments to increase their collaboration and recommended the use of digital travel apps to ensure a safe resumption of travel.
The Iata Travel Pass, a health app that is currently being tested, will be released on Apple's iOS platform by April 15 while the Android version will “take a little longer”, said Mr Al-Awadhi.
The digital passport for Covid-19 test results and vaccine certificates was originally scheduled for release at the end of March.
"But the application will only achieve its success once airlines, countries, airports also accept it," Mr Al-Awadhi said.
"This is why we are doing the trials with a large number of airlines in different regions."
Virgin Atlantic is one of the latest airlines to trial digital health passports, with plans to test the Iata Travel Pass on its London to Barbados route from April 16.
The first group of travellers using the Iata Travel Pass landed at London's Heathrow Airport on a Singapore Airlines flight after a successful trial of the app, the airline body said on March 17.
Emirates and Etihad Airways earlier announced that they will also run Iata Travel Pass trials.
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Pathaan
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Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List
James Mustich, Workman
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Aldar Properties Abu Dhabi T10
*November 15 to November 24
*Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
*Tickets: Start at Dh10, from ttensports.com
*TV: Ten Sports
*Streaming: Jio Live
*2017 winners: Kerala Kings
*2018 winners: Northern Warriors
Company%20Profile
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Man of the match: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)
More from Neighbourhood Watch
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
