The incredible rebound of the China-Africa air link

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Prior to the pandemic, China was on a well-documented investment push within Africa, financing infrastructure projects — including massive new airports — as part of Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Its growing economic and political influence on the continent was enormous. In the post-pandemic aviation world where global air travel is now, in aggregate, above 2019 levels of capacity, China’s still-deflated international link to the world stands out as key markets rise. 

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Yet, a closer look at the regional data shows that the rebound of China’s link to Africa in particular has massively outpaced the rest of the world. In April 2024, the capacity flying between Africa and China is scheduled to be 39% above the same month in 2019, while China’s overall flying internationally remains well below 2019 levels.

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Jon Ostrower
Jon Ostrower is Editor-in-chief of The Air Current, where he leads coverage of the global aerospace and aviation industries. Prior to launching TAC in June 2018, Mr. Ostrower served as Aviation Editor for CNN Worldwide, guiding the network’s global coverage of the business and operations of aviation. Mr. Ostrower joined CNN in 2016 following four and a half years at the Wall Street Journal. Based first in Chicago and then in Washington, D.C., he covered Boeing, aviation safety, and the business of global aerospace. Before that, Mr. Ostrower was editor of FlightBlogger for Flightglobal and Flight International Magazine covering the development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other new aircraft programs from 2007 to 2012. He is also an instructor at the University of Southern California in the Viterbi School of Engineering's Aviation Safety and Security program. Mr. Ostrower, a Boston native, graduated from The George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs with a bachelor’s degree in Political Communication. He is based in Seattle.
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