dre aviation, Africa's Leading Aviation Consultancy have announced that they have secured funding for their continued expansion into the African aviation market.
Explaining the latest development, Managing Partner, Sukhjinder Mann, commented that the aviation landscape has changed markedly since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic with many aviation sector participants, which include airlines, ground handlers, catering & Avsec companies and a multitude of other suppliers being adversely affected - some of which have been pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.
"Covid-19 will continue to disrupt the aviation industry and supply chain eco-system for at least 2 years subject to the virus being contained within the next 9 -12 months; any further delays in spread prevention or a viable cure will only extend the period of adversity in the industry. Whilst a majority of industry participants have acted decisively and reduced staff and operating costs these are only short term solutions. The longer the pandemic continues, more drastic measures will need to be taken to ensure the long term viability of the entities in anticipation of a recovery in air travel. It is not going to be an easy haul.
The impact on the sector will be severe in the short term due to the fragmented nature of the industry in the continent. Carriers that were previously struggling to make profit and burning cash will no doubt be calling on shareholders for further funding or turning to the debt markets. Fastjet is a good example of a listed company recently issuing a warning on the future viability of the airline unless flights resume soon, in addition to shareholders further funding the operating expenditure for the medium term. So the question is, how long can companies hold out before being pushed into receivership or returning once again to their shareholders for more funds? Not every shareholder may be in a position to extend further funding, hence the inevitable.
Our primary concern is due to the unknown duration of this pandemic, key players will be forced out of the market and therefore leave voids that will not be easy to replicate once the market returns, key services will be lost and will take time to relaunch.
We will therefore be launching a fund that will either acquire or finance aviation related companies in distress. Despite the pandemic, we remain committed to the development of aviation on the African continent and will do what is necessary to support any entities that may approach us for joint co-operation going forward.
We are also pleased to announce that we have been engaged by investors to establish a West African regional carrier and are currently discussing the opportunity with a number of Civil Aviation Authorities in the region and will make further announcements on the market selected and timescale of the carrier launch post the current Covid19 impasse"
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