the running of the country’s largest carrier, Arik Air, in February to prevent its failure. But endless unprofitability does not
have to be the norm – Ethiopian Airlines is a rare shining light in the African industry with a record-breaking profit in 2016 and plans to increase its range of destinations from 98 to 120 by 2025, plus the tantalising prospect of a new airport in Addis Ababa. (see panel, below) For AFRAA’s Elijah Chingosho, the
aviation industry is at a financial crossroads in Africa. He says: “To reverse this state of affairs, the quest for a Single Aviation Market should not be allowed to fail. Failure would result in the African airline industry following the footsteps of the once thriving African shipping industry which has now virtually disappeared.”
FUTURE PROSPECTS So what should we expect to see in the near future following the implementation of the SAATM? Encouragingly, the six nations that make up the East Africa Community
(Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda) were due to meet to discuss the “fast track” implementation of a liberalised single air market within their region. But not everybody is holding their
breath about a sudden surge in new routes across Africa during the next few months. John Grant, senior analyst at aviation
data firm OAG, says: “It will probably only help speed things up a little, if at all. Will it allow cross-border ownership or open skies type agreements? “Those that combine conducive
geography and the ability/willingness to capitalise on it may benefit – Ethiopia and Ethiopian Airlines spring to mind, maybe also Morocco and South Africa.” Consilium Aviation’s Patrick Folley
says: “Within many African nations, the percentages of the middle classes that can afford to fly remain relatively low compared to the rest of the world. This means that potential route opportunities can often be only for relatively small
Airport developments Here are details of
some of major airport infrastructure projects in the pipeline across Africa:
¢ Accra Kotoka International airport in Ghana is due to open a third terminal in early 2018 adding an extra five million in passenger capacity.
¢ Addis Ababa The Ethiopian capital’s Bole International airport is currently expanding its two terminals, as well as adding a ‘VIP’ terminal. Work is scheduled to be completed by January 2018. There are also plans for a new US$4 billion hub airport in the city which would have annual capacity of 12 million passengers. The new airport is expected to take up to eight years to build.
¢ Cape Town South Africa’s second largest gateway is set for a major upgrade, including
82 BBT July/August 2017
the realignment of its runway and taxi-ways so it can cater for larger aircraft, such as the Airbus A380. Work is due to start this month (July) for completion by late 2021. A new domestic arrivals hall is also scheduled to be completed by 2020, while a second terminal is set to open in 2022.
¢ Dakar Blaise Diagne airport, around 50 kilometres from Senegal’s capital, is due to open later this year after taking more than a decade to build. It will have a capacity of 10 million passengers per year.
Refurbishment at OR Tambo, Johannesburg
¢ Johannesburg Southern Africa’s major international hub, OR Tambo, is planning to refurbish its international terminal with work scheduled to run from 2018 to 2020. The airport will also construct new stands for larger aircraft, such as the A380.
¢ Kigali Work has started this summer on the new Bugesera International airport in the Rwandan capital, which is scheduled to open at the end of 2019 when it will operate alongside the existing Kigali International airport.
¢ Lusaka A new terminal is currently being built at Kenneth Kaunda International near Lusaka, Zambia, as part of a US$360 million expansion and improvement of the airport. Completion is expected in 2019.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
numbers of people, justifying infrequent service.
“Liberalisation may allow more successful airlines from other parts of Africa to introduce services that aren’t reliant on purely flying to their home country airport. A good example of this already has been the development of ASKY by Ethiopian Airlines as a west African airline based in Lome [Togo].” A more optimistic view comes from Ali
Tounsi, secretary general of ACI (Airports Council International) Africa, who says the “writing is on the wall when it comes to liberalisation in Africa”. “It works and it works on a number of
levels: from helping to grow the industry to bettering countries’ economies,” he adds. Perhaps travelling between some parts
of Africa will no longer be such a logistical nightmare for business travellers – we will have to wait and see whether ‘open skies’ becomes a reality or whether this is just another false dawn.
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