Africa World Airlines (AW, Accra) has deferred delivery of its maiden A319-100 until February 2015. In an interview with Ghana's BF&T Financial newspaper, Apiigy Afenu, AWA's Chief Operating Officer, said the deferment is a result of the Ebola outbreak currently affecting West Africa.
The Ebola outbreak, which has so far claimed 2'500 lives in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria, and Senegal, has led to a dramatic decline in demand for air travel in the region as various regional governments have imposed moratoria on flights arriving from infected areas.
The Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou) subsidiary had planned to use two A319s to expand its regional operations - currently limited to Lagos in Nigeria - to include Abuja and Port Harcourt Awolowo as well as Freetown in Sierra Leone, Monrovia Roberts in Liberia, Dakar Yoff-Léopold Sédar Senghor International in Senegal, and Conakry in Guinea.
