There’s growing awareness that the aviation industry could be a development catalyst for intra-Africa development, but the idea is not a priority for most African governments, according to a Traveller24 report.
Africa’s air transport market is marginalized, said Elham Ibrahim, African Union Commissioner for infrastructure and energy.
Establishing a single air transport market will create 155,000 jobs, Ibrahim said. Countries targeted for a single African air transport market include Angola, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, and Tunisia, according to SAnews.gov.za.
African countries are reluctant to to open their skies amongst each other despite increased liberalization of the African aviation industry, yet they’re “open to non-African countries,” said South Africa’s Transport Minister Dipuo Peters.
Peters played host to government transportation heads from around Africa as part of an African Union proposal to establish a single air transport market in Africa by 2017.
“African countries must first link with their own African neighboring countries before they can forge links with other countries,” Peters said. “The fear of competition amongst African counties undercuts national airlines’ (abilities) to enhance their commercial viability.”
Freight traffic and the number of African passengers has grown — a trend expected to continue thanks to the emerging middle class, increased urbanization and economic growth, Peters said.
African aviation is hampered by limited connectivity, lack of regulation, poor safety and security records, and lack of adequate infrastructure. These exacerbate the competition and high operating costs. Addressing these challenges could significantly unlock the industry’s potential for growth, she said.
“Five million passengers are denied the chance to travel between these markets because of unnecessary restrictions on establishing air routes.”