By Obadiah Mailafia
For millennia, the dream of flying like the birds in the sky-dominated the imagination of visionaries, inventors, shamans, madmen and cranks. Leonardo da Vinci, the greatest genius of all time, used to tie the wings of dead birds on his hands in the vain attempt to fly. As far back as the 16th century, he left behind several designs that look uncannily like the aircraft and spaceships that we know today.
Socrates, the greatest of all the philosophers, opined: ”Man must rise above the Earth—to the top of the atmosphere and beyond—for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives”.
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The inventors of the airplane, the Wrights brothers,made their first successful flight on December 17, 1903. But it was not until June 1939 that the first trans-Atlantic commercial flight took place. Aviation today is a major pillar of the world economy, employing 87.7 million people and contributing $2.7 trillion,about 3.4% of global GDP. There are128,000 daily flights, with4.7 billion passengers annually. Aviation is critical for global logistics chains, trade and tourism.
However, it also contributes 2.0% to global CO2s emissions. Competition is cut-throat, with bankruptcies not uncommon. Cheaper, no-frills airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair have stiffened the competition. Rising factor costs, particularly petroleum, remain an abiding challenge. COVID-19 and the unprecedented global lock-down has been a disaster for the industry, incurring over $344 billionlosses and43 airline bankruptcies.
But stakeholders remain bullish. IATA, the global industry regulator, has projectedgrowth of174 % over the next 20 years, with a staggering 9.4 billion passenger journeys by 2037. The investor, Warren Buffett, who rarely makes a wrong move, has increased his stakes in the sector.
Technology has become a force for creative destruction in global aviation. A new generation of hybrid supersonic planes are being designed to take over from the defunct…
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