African airports are shunned, they saw a decline in passenger traffic of 16.5% between March 2011 and March 2010, according to figures released Wednesday by the Airports Council International (ACI). Into question the Arab revolutions have reduced attendance at airports in Tunisia and Egypt.

Passenger traffic has slowed from 16.5% in African airports in March 2011, compared to the same period in 2010, according to statistics from the Airports Council International (ACI) published on Wednesday. In contrast to the global traffic increased by 6.6%. The origin of this decline: the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt. “Some 130,000 passengers pass through airports African per year. Four areas – North Africa, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria – account for 70% of these travelers. North Africa alone has recorded a decline from 20 to 40%, mainly because of charter traffic, the majority of tourist destinations in Egypt and Tunisia, which fell from 50 to 70%, “said Ali Tounsi, the Secretary Africa Regional Office of the AIT.

Africa down, Latin America up

If Morocco, which also attracts many tourists in the Maghreb, has not experienced a revolution, it is also a victim of the Arab Spring, which took the form of political upheavals in the kingdom. “People are afraid of a possible contagion,” says Ali Tounsi reminder that the latest bomb attack experienced by the city of Marrakech also feeds the fears of tourists.

The head of the Africa office of the AIT said that it is a major setback for African airports. “They have lost in one year what they could gain in attendance over 4-5 years,” he said. With a similar figure to Africa in absolute terms – 15.3% – the Latin American region is one that enjoys the strongest growth in the first quarter of 2011.

The ICA brings together more than 1600 airport platforms, including about 200 on the African continent.

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