5 Black-Owned Apps to Download for Your Travels

Five Black-Owned Apps to Download For Your Travels

Last week, the European Union announced its decision to get rid of mask mandates for its flights and airports.

Now in effect, people on the flights of certain airlines are given the choice of wearing a mask, although officials still strongly suggest wearing a mask if a passenger’s coughing and sneezing. 

While the world is still averaging 1,696 COVID-19 deaths a day, officials all over the world are easing mask mandates on planes because of the easing restrictions, vaccination rates and immunity levels. 

As a result, the travel industry is expecting an increase in trips this summer. 

To make traveling again easier after the shutdown, here are five Black-owned apps for traveling to download.

1. Airfordable: Made by entrepreneur Ama Marfo, this app helps users book flights. Inspired by Marfo’s experiences as a college student traveling home to Ghana, Airfordable makes sure that people are able to go on travels without having to worry about being overcharged or having debt after the trip. Through the app, users can pay an up-front fee and continue to pay off their trip in installments before leaving for their flight. To make the process of going to travel easier, Airfordable clearly labels steps, offers different payment plans and tracks users’ payments for them. The app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play for early access.

2. Moovn: Created in 2015 by Godwin Gabriel, a limousine taxi businessman from Tanzania, Moovn is an app that helps travelers book rideshares. Currently available in a variety of cities, including Washington D.C. and Nairobi in Kenya, the app helps travelers book rideshare appointments up to a month in advance. Moovn also lets users choose what method of transportation they want. Apart from cars, the app allows users to travel using bikes or tricycles. To use Moovn, the app is available for free on Google Play and the App Store.

3. TravSolo: Made by entrepreneur Chizoba Anyaoha, this app helps travelers who are going on their trip alone feel safer. Serving as a planning app, TravSolo lets users map out their entire journey and share it with others in the form of a story. Through the stories, the app safely helps connect solo travelers with similar interests who are interested in meeting up with each other. The users are then available to communicate through a chat to make plans to explore places together. Currently, the app is just available on the App Store for free, but will eventually be available on Google Play.

4. Blapp: Created by Jon Laster, a comedian based in New York City, following the Black Lives Matter protests, this app intends to help people find more local Black-owned businesses to support. While it’s available for everyone to use, the app’s main target is travelers. Whenever leaving town, Blapp guarantees that users will be able to find Black-owned restaurants, hair salons, clubs, shops, doctor’s offices and more to help support. Blapp also lets travelers order directly from these businesses through the app. To use Blapp, it’s available for download on both Google Play and the App Store for free.

5. Melanin on the Map: Created by Ashley McDonough, a Howard University graduate and former journalist, this travel app connects Black and Brown travelers with each other. Through the app, the users are able to find people with similar interests to go on trips with. To connect people, Melanin on the Map lets its users create a profile featuring a picture, name, social media handle, occupation and hometown for others to see and reach out to. Through the app, travelers can also book their trips with the help of Melanin on the Map travel agents. To use Melanin on the Map, it’s available for free on Google Play and the App Store.