AFRICA
What’s new in Africa A number of airport developments are taking place in Africa, in order to support growing traffi c numbers. Besides major terminal developments in Cairo, Johannesburg and Cape Town, some other new or upgraded facilities include:
King Shaka International Airport (South Africa) opened in May 2010. The 7.5mppa gateway has replaced the former Durban airport and has service from eight domestic and two international airlines.
Enfi dha Zine El Abidine Ben Ali International Airport (Tunisia) is North Africa’s newest gateway having opened for business in November 2009. The TAV-operated gateway is located just 25km from the fast growing tourist resort of Hammamet.
Sikhuphe International Airport (Swaziland) is a government initiative and is earmarked to open in late 2010 or early 2011. The new airport comprises a 3600m CAT1 runway together with connecting taxiway, apron, terminal building, ATC tower, radar systems, fi re station, police station, fuel farm, supporting buildings, access roads, utilities (two independent power supplies), and security fencing.
The fi rst fl ight at King Shaka International Airport.
Morocco and Egypt The clearest example of this, says Kester, can be seen in North Africa with Morocco and Egypt. “Both countries have identifi ed that tourism is important to
their economic development and have recognised the need to create a suitable business environment where investors have confi dence, where there is stability and where red tape is not prohibitive,” he points out. “These countries have tried to remove constraints and this is
refl ected in Morocco liberalising its air space to an extent. It has also invested in airports and all of this is making it more attractive for people to go there on holiday and business.” He adds that this more liberalised environment is
resulting in new air transport developments. “Royal Air Maroc is an interesting example as it is keen on developing Morocco as a regional hub for fl ights into West Africa, to countries like Senegal,” he muses. Other carriers are also making great strides in both countries.
Morocco has benefi tted from its liberalised agreement with the EU and has, as a result, gained increased services from Ryanair and easyJet, among others. In Egypt, Star Alliance member Egyptair is expanding its
international footprint, while Middle Eastern carrier fl ydubai recently launched services to Alexandria. A major player in both Morocco and Egypt is, of course, Air Arabia,
which has established a new hub at Alexandria with fi ve regional destinations, while it serves 11 European destinations from Casablanca, in Morocco.
Lusaka International Airport (Zambia) is one of four Zambian airports (the others are Livingstone, Ndola and Mfuwe) set to be upgraded by the country’s National Airports Corporation Limited (NACL). LeighFisher (formally Jacobs Consultancy Aviation Practice) is reported to be involved in the projects, which are aimed at catering for demand from both passengers, as well as Zambia’s important agricultural export industry.
Bamako-Sénou International Airport (Mali) is to get a $71.6 million facelift courtesy of a modernisation programme carried out by China’s Sinohydro Corporation and fi nanced by the US Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC).The upgrade will take nearly two years to complete and equip Mali’s capital city gateway with a new terminal and extended runway capable of handling up to 1.5 million passengers per annum. The airport will also get a new cargo terminal as part of the improvement programme that US envoy to Mali, Gillian Milovanovic, insists will “open up the country and ease air links between Mali and other countries, improving commercial connections and reducing costs.”
Monastir Habib Bourguiba International Airport (Tunisia) opened in October 2009 and is viewed as a key new gateway for the North African country, where tourism represents 6.5% of the GDP. TAV has a 40-year concession to operate the gateway it constructed under the terms of a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract signed with the Tunisian government.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda Traditionally, East Africa has been the darling of the safari industry, attracting thousands of wealthy tourists each year. Now the market is starting to develop beyond being only a luxury leisure destination for European and American travellers. Turkish Airlines launched a new three-times-weekly non-stop service
between Istanbul and Entebbe, Uganda and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania during June, providing connectivity between the East African region and the airline’s comprehensive network in Europe and Asia. This provides competition to
AIRPORT WORLD/AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2010 65
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88