Despite the current pessimism surrounding the future of Kenya Airways, the International Air Transport Association forecasts more than double growth for the country’s air transport sector in the next 20 years.

According to IATA, the sector will grow by 249 percent over the period if the current trends are maintained, contributing $11.3 billion annually to Kenya’s GDP and supporting an estimated 859,000 jobs by 2037.

BUSY ROUTE

The findings were made in the Value of Aviation Report for Kenya that was launched during IATA’s Regional Aviation Forum hosted by Kenya Airways on September 17.

The report looked at the total contribution of jobs and spending generated by airlines and their supply chain; trade and tourism flows; investments by users of all airlines serving a particular country as well as the city pair connections that make these flows possible.

According to IATA, the air transport sector contributed $3.2 billion to the economy, amounting to 4.6 percent of the country’s GDP in 2017.

Source: The East African

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