AFRICA
The biggest failure has been the marked
lack of progress in route liberalisation since the Yamoussoukro Decision was signed by 44 African nations in 1999. This agreement was supposed to open up the continent’s aviation market but only a few countries, such as Ethiopia and Kenya, have followed through on this in any significant way. “There has been an acknowledgement
of the need for liberalisation to help air transport grow across Africa, with the economic benefits that provides for many years,” says Patrick Folley, a director at London-based aviation consultancy Consilium Aviation. “Unfortunately many nations subsequently chose not to put Yamoussoukro into effect, often in order to protect small, weak national airlines with little prospect for growth.” African aviation also continues to be
dogged by poor profitability, patchy safety standards and high airport charges, which kept prices high. African airlines also have to pay around 2.5 times more on average than other carriers for their fuel – a problem that has been further exacerbated by the current strength of the US dollar against local African currencies. “The far-sighted vision of a Single
African Aviation market will help spur the development of African aviation which currently accounts for less than three per cent of global traffic,” says Elijah Chingosho, secretary general of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). “Significant progress has been achieved towards a single aviation market. Those
Kigali: Rwanda is expected to see big growth in business travel
BUSINESS BOOST The potential benefits for business travel are obvious with more convenient routes between key African destinations to choose from as well as lower prices through increased competition. Currently, travelling between some African destinations involves flying via the Middle East or even into Europe and back again. Frank Palapies, chief operating officer,
Africa & Middle East for Wings Travel Management, says: “Many passengers a year are being denied the chance to travel within Africa because of unnecessary restrictions on establishing air routes. “With the impending opening of air traffic in Africa, it will make air travel
“Many passengers a year are being denied the chance to travel within Africa because of unneccessary restrictions on establishing air routes”
states that have embraced liberalisation of their skies are realising significant economic benefits,” Chingosho adds. The 2015 Intervistas report on air
service liberalisation in Africa illustrates the potential of airspace liberalisation by highlighting how some African countries have already benefited through enhanced bilateral agreements. For example, a deal between South Africa and Kenya in the early 2000s led to a 69 per cent rise in traffic between the two countries, while allowing low-cost carriers to fly between South Africa and Zambia cut fares by nearly 40 per cent and increased passenger numbers by a similar percentage.
80 BBT July/August 2017
more affordable to more people and stimulate traffic flows between various countries. The open skies policy will allow us to provide more travel options for our customers, facilitating direct flights and budget savings.” Ciaran Kelly, general manager, Middle
East & Africa at FCM Travel Solutions, adds: “We have seen promises about liberalising the African skies before; if African countries opened their skies, they would be able to create thousands of jobs and add billions to their gross domestic product each year. Greater competition would also lead to more people being able to afford air travel.
“If aviation is more accessible within
Africa it leads to greater efficiency and productivity and it creates opportunities for a country’s citizens. Poor connectivity is losing Africa lots of opportunities for growth,” adds Kelly. The importance of business travel within
Africa is underscored by research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which shows that the biggest percentage growth in business travel over the last five years came in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while Mozambique, Sudan, Angola, Rwanda and Ivory Coast also featured in the top 15 countries globally for corporate travel growth during this period. Those countries forecast to see the biggest increases in business travel in the next ten years include Rwanda, with an average annual rise in spending of 8.5 per cent, while Gabon and Tanzania also feature in the top ten growth markets up to 2027.
FINANCIAL WEAKNESS On a commercial basis, something needs to change for the continent’s aviation sector. African airlines lag behind their counterparts in other countries in terms of their financial performance – collectively they made a loss of US$800 million in 2016 and a similar deficit is expected this year. Profitability has not been helped by “inadequate” load factors, says IATA – currently the lowest in the world at a meagre 50.8 per cent. The traditional knee jerk reaction by
African governments to their struggling state-owned airlines has been to prop them up financially or try to deter competition in some way. Nigeria’s government took over
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