Airlines flying across East Africa could soon be able to take more direct routes through the region’s airspace, potentially cutting flight times, fuel consumption and operating costs – savings that could eventually help ease pressure on passenger fares.

Aviation authorities and airlines are working towards wider adoption of Free Route Airspace (FRA) and User Preferred Routes (UPRs), systems that allow aircraft to fly more efficient routes between designated points instead of relying entirely on fixed air traffic corridors. Aircraft using such routes remain under air traffic control.

The push comes as African airlines grapple with some of the world’s highest operating costs, particularly fuel expenses.

The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has been working with aviation authorities and airlines to expand the use of Free Route Airspace and User Preferred Routes across the continent.

By August 2025, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, EgyptAir, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir and ASKY Airlines had received approval to use User Preferred Routes covering 30 city pairs.

AFRAA estimated that the routes could save airlines more than 1,393 flight hours and 5,000 tonnes of fuel annually, translating into about $15 million in fuel-cost savings and preventing approximately 16,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Gaoussou Konate, AFRAA’s Director of Technical and Operations, said the association launched Free Route Airspace trials with financial support from Afreximbank.

“On 2nd of November 2023, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways operated the first flights outside their route networks, and along User Preferred Routes, from Addis Ababa to Abidjan and from Nairobi to Accra, respectively,” Konate said.

User Preferred Routes became operational in Western and Central Africa in October 2025. Attention has since shifted to Eastern and Southern Africa, where three airlines participated in trials between June and September 2026.

“By the close of the workshop, it was agreed to set January 21, 2027 as the date for the operationalisation of the UPR in ESAF,” Konate said.

If implemented as planned, the system would allow participating airlines operating across Eastern and Southern African airspace to increasingly choose more efficient flight paths.

Trials show potential savings

Results from the latest trials provide a clearer indication of what airlines could gain from more direct routing. Between July 1 and September 15, 2026, three participating airlines operated 2,189 flights using User Preferred Routes, according to Konate.

“Together, those flights saved about 8,000 minutes of flight time, 1,218 tonnes of fuel, and 3,838 tonnes of carbon dioxide,” he said.

AFRAA estimates the financial savings at about $900 (Sh116,550) per flight, equivalent to approximately $2 million across the 2,189 trial flights.

The results, however, vary from one route to another.

“These are averages across trial flights. Savings on an individual route depend on how much the approved trajectory shortens the flight and on weather and traffic conditions,” Konate said. “They should not be treated as a guaranteed result for every East African flight.”

For airlines operating eligible routes frequently, however, even relatively small savings on each flight could accumulate into significant reductions in annual operating costs.

That could be particularly important in Africa, where airline costs remain comparatively high.

Konate cited International Air Transport Association figures showing that, in its 2024 comparison, aviation fuel prices in Africa were around 17 per cent above the global average, while fuel accounted for about 40 per cent of African airlines’ operating costs.

Will passengers pay less?

The bigger question for travellers is whether lower operating costs will eventually translate into cheaper tickets.

Konate said more efficient routes could help airlines become more cost-efficient and potentially offer more competitive fares over time.

But he cautioned against expecting an immediate or proportional reduction in ticket prices.

“A reduction in flight costs does not, however, produce an equivalent or immediate reduction in ticket prices,” he said.

Airfares are determined by several factors beyond fuel consumption, including passenger demand, available seat capacity, taxes, airport charges, passenger service fees and other airline operating costs.

Airlines could therefore use savings generated from shorter routes to absorb increases elsewhere, maintain existing services, strengthen profitability or improve operational reliability rather than immediately cutting fares.

“Wider, sustained use of more direct routes would give those savings a better chance of benefiting passengers in the medium- to long-term,” Konate said.

That means passengers may not necessarily see a direct Sh116,550-per-flight saving reflected immediately in ticket prices.

But if airlines consistently spend less on fuel and flight time across hundreds or thousands of journeys, the resulting efficiency could reduce some of the cost pressure that keeps African airfares high.

Which flights stand to gain most?

Not every route will benefit equally.

“Flights that currently take substantial detours around fixed routes or across flight information region boundaries are likely to see the largest savings on each journey,” Konate said.

The actual benefit will depend on how much shorter the approved route is, as well as prevailing weather and air traffic conditions.

Source: airlines.africa

Can African aviation become a stronger engine for growth, tourism and regional integration? That is the message from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has called on African governments to view air transport as strategic economic infrastructure.

Currently meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for its Focus Africa conference, the organization says a better-coordinated aviation strategy could support jobs, facilitate trade, boost tourism and improve connections between African countries. However, IATA points to several persistent obstacles, ranging from operational safety and ticket prices to taxation, charges, energy sustainability and travel formalities.

“Aviation is economic infrastructure for Africa. Its value lies in the long‑term benefits it delivers,” said Kamil Alawadhi, IATA’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East. According to him, “an aviation strategy focused on safety, cost-competitiveness, energy security/sustainability, and ease of doing business will create jobs, enable trade, support tourism, and further regional integration.”

IATA is therefore promoting an approach in which aviation is not simply viewed as a sector to be taxed, but as a development tool. “The prosperity this generates will allow governments to push forward social and economic development more durably than any tax that might be collected from travelers,” Alawadhi added.

An aviation strategy built around four priorities, including easing visa requirements

In its statement, IATA calls on African governments to take action in four main areas.

The first is aviation safety, an area in which the continent has made progress, although the gap with the global average remains significant. The organization says Africa’s accident rate fell from 12.13 to 7.86 per million sectors between 2024 and 2025, while remaining above the global average of 1.32.

The second priority is cost competitiveness. IATA estimates that taxes and charges imposed by governments and infrastructure providers are about 15% higher in Africa than the global average. It points in particular to certain API-PNR passenger data charges, as well as the decision taken by ECOWAS in December 2025 to eliminate air transport taxes and reduce certain charges by 25%.

The third priority concerns ease of doing business. IATA highlights the issue of blocked funds, meaning airline revenues that cannot be freely repatriated. According to the organization, African countries account for the largest share of blocked airline funds worldwide, with $774 million affected at the end of March 2026.

In particular, IATA devotes part of its appeal to reducing the burden of visa requirements.

The organization notes that nearly half of all intra-African trips still require a visa before departure, a situation that limits regional mobility, tourism and economic integration. According to IATA, countries that have eased their requirements have seen stronger tourism flows, more resilient air links and greater use of regional air services.

Formalities that also weigh on African airlines

This position echoes recent calls from the African Development Bank and the African Union Commission in favor of a visa-free Africa.

At a symposium held on the sidelines of the 39th African Union Summit in February, participants said restrictive visa regimes continued to hamper trade in services, investment flows, tourism and labor mobility, even as the African Continental Free Trade Area aims to facilitate trade. They also stressed that free movement would require harmonized migration policies, digital identity systems, border infrastructure and sustained political commitment.

Mesfin Bekele, group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, said that more than 35% of passengers traveling between Africa and the rest of the world are carried by non-African airlines, while African carriers account for only about 30% of that market share. In his view, easing travel formalities could therefore help rebalance part of that dynamic. “Lifting visa requirements would significantly increase the number of Africans traveling within the continent, thereby creating stronger demand for intra-African air services,” he said.

Ras Mubarak, who leads the Trans-Africa Tourism and Unity Campaign, urged governments to accelerate ratification of the African Union Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons and to project a more positive image of the continent. He said that only four African countries — São Tomé and Príncipe, Rwanda, Nigeria and Mali — have ratified the protocol. “If we are serious about a visa-free Africa by 2030, more countries must lead by example,” he said, citing Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa as key players.

Beyond traveler mobility, Ras Mubarak also presents free movement as an economic issue. “When people move freely, governments may lose some visa fees, but this is offset by hotel occupancy, trade activity, and the jobs created,” he explained. “A dollar spent outside Africa is a dollar impoverishing our people and costing African youth employment.”

The issue, then, is not only about making tourist travel easier. For IATA, as well as for several African stakeholders in aviation and regional integration, reducing visa barriers should also allow entrepreneurs, investors, professionals and economic operators to move more easily within the continent.

High costs weighing on connectivity

For IATA, visa restrictions add to other obstacles affecting African connectivity.

The organization also points to the pressure that taxes, regulatory fees and certain administrative charges place on final ticket prices. In a market where intra-African demand remains fragile, these costs can limit the opening of new routes or weaken existing ones.

IATA is therefore calling for a more competitiveness-friendly approach to make air travel more accessible. According to the organization, less costly and more seamless aviation would support trade, business travel and regional tourism, while strengthening the continent’s economic integration.

The final part of IATA’s appeal focuses on sustainability and energy security.

The organization says Africa has significant potential to produce sustainable aviation fuels, particularly from agricultural residues, forestry waste and municipal waste. It notes that sub-Saharan Africa could supply up to 106 million tons of suitable feedstock for sustainable fuel production by 2050.

IATA is also urging African governments to become more involved in CORSIA, the international mechanism designed to manage aviation’s climate impact. According to the organization, the continent could benefit from this framework by generating climate finance, provided the necessary policies and infrastructure are put in place.

Source : airlines.africa

Dubai is heading into the final months of 2026 with tourism showing a strong recovery, as international visitor numbers and hotel performance continue to improve following a difficult first half of the year.

The latest figures from Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) show that the emirate welcomed 6.97 million international overnight visitors between January and August 2026. August alone recorded approximately 869,000 visitors, the highest monthly figure since February, with visitor numbers recording double-digit month-on-month growth since March.

The recovery is also visible across the city’s hotel sector. Hotel occupancy reached 66% in August, up from 36% in March. By the end of August, Dubai had almost 149,000 hotel rooms, while hotels recorded 21.61 million occupied room nights during the first eight months of the year.

The turnaround is significant after a disrupted first half of the year, when regional instability affected aviation and hotel demand. The restoration of international air connectivity has been central to Dubai’s recovery, allowing the destination to reconnect with its major source markets as travel demand strengthens.

Dubai’s diversified visitor base is another factor supporting the rebound. Between January and August, Western Europe accounted for 20% of international visitation, followed by South Asia at 17%, the GCC at 16%, and CIS and Eastern Europe at 14%. The spread across markets gives the destination multiple sources of demand rather than leaving it heavily dependent on one region.

Africa remains an important part of that mix. The continent generated approximately 897,000 visitors, or 5% of Dubai’s international arrivals, in 2025, when the emirate welcomed a record 19.59 million international overnight visitors, up from 18.72 million in 2024.

For the East African travel trade, Dubai’s relationship with the region is increasingly commercial as well as consumer-driven. In July, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism held its annual tourism trade roadshow in Nairobi, bringing together more than 130 travel agents, tour operators, airlines and tourism stakeholders to strengthen destination partnerships and sales opportunities.

That trade relationship is supported by a tourism product that can be packaged for very different travellers. Dubai combines beaches and desert experiences with family entertainment, shopping, gastronomy, wellness, culture and business events, allowing agents to build itineraries around short breaks, family holidays, honeymoons, luxury travel and corporate trips.

Its hotel market adds another layer of flexibility. Dubai recorded 80.7% average hotel occupancy in 2025, generating 44.85 million occupied room nights. The average daily rate stood at AED579, while revenue per available room increased 11% to AED467, highlighting the strength of the destination’s accommodation sector.

For African travel professionals, the attraction therefore extends beyond Dubai’s familiar skyline and luxury positioning. Strong connectivity, extensive accommodation capacity, a wide range of experiences and a year-round events calendar give agents multiple ways to sell the destination across different customer segments.

The momentum comes after Dubai recorded its first month with more than 2 million international visitors in December 2025, giving the emirate a record base from which to enter 2026. With visitor numbers now recovering and the peak winter travel period approaching, Dubai is seeking to turn that momentum into another strong season.

For African travellers and the trade that serves them, the message is increasingly clear: Dubai is not relying on a single tourism product. It is selling a complete destination — and its latest visitor and hotel figures suggest that proposition continues to attract demand.

Uganda has removed the requirement for international travellers to present a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate when entering the country, ending a long-standing entry requirement that has been an important consideration for travel agents and visitors planning trips to Uganda.

The change was formally confirmed on 2 October by Uganda’s National Citizenship and Immigration Control (NCIC), which said a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is no longer required for entry. The requirement is also no longer listed on Uganda’s e-visa application portal or the NCIC website.

The clarification follows reports earlier this week that the requirement had been dropped. The decision followed communication from Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Citizenship and Immigration Control.

For the travel trade, the move removes one of the documentation requirements that agents have traditionally had to flag when preparing clients for travel to Uganda. Travellers who previously needed to carry proof of vaccination to satisfy Uganda’s entry rules will no longer need to present the certificate at the border.

The change could also simplify pre-travel advice and reduce the risk of passengers arriving without documentation that had previously been treated as a condition of entry. This is particularly relevant for regional travel within East Africa, where travellers frequently move between Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and other destinations.

However, the change should not be interpreted as a general suspension of Yellow Fever vaccination requirements across the region. Other countries may continue to require proof of vaccination depending on a traveller’s origin, transit history or destination. ATCNews, for example, noted that Seychelles continues to apply Yellow Fever requirements to some travellers arriving from Africa, including those transiting through Nairobi or Addis Ababa.

For travel agents, the immediate priority is therefore to update client advisories and booking checklists for Uganda while continuing to check the latest airline and destination-entry information for onward journeys. The Uganda immigration authority has directed travellers requiring further clarification to its Public Relations Office.

The development comes as Uganda continues to position itself as a destination for international leisure, business and regional travel. Removing an additional entry-document requirement could make the country marginally easier to access, particularly for short-notice and regional travellers.

Travel trade note: Uganda’s immigration authority has now officially confirmed that a Yellow Fever vaccination certificate is not mandatory for entry into Uganda. Agents should nevertheless verify current airline/Timatic requirements where applicable, particularly for itineraries involving onward travel or transit through other countries.

Source : atcnews.org

Air Cairo is scheduled to launch a direct Mombasa–Hurghada service in December, creating a new air link between Kenya’s Coast and Egypt’s Red Sea resort region.

The Egyptian carrier’s flight SM734 is scheduled to make its first Mombasa–Hurghada operation on December 26, 2026, with current timetables showing two weekly services around the launch period. The flight is expected to take about five hours, with the return service operating as SM733.

The route will connect Moi International Airport and Hurghada International Airport without a stop in Nairobi or Cairo, adding another international city pair to Mombasa’s aviation network.

Hurghada is one of Egypt’s principal Red Sea tourism centres, while Mombasa is the main international gateway to Kenya’s Coast. The new service therefore links two established leisure markets directly and gives tour operators in both countries another air connection around which to build itineraries.

Current schedules indicate that Air Cairo will use an Embraer 190 on the route. The initial twice-weekly operation represents a relatively small addition to available capacity, but the opening of the city pair gives the airline a foothold in Kenya’s coastal market and places Mombasa within its wider East African network.

Air Cairo already serves the region, including connections involving Nairobi and Zanzibar, making the Mombasa service part of a broader expansion of links between Egypt and East Africa.

The airline is also displaying Mombasa–Hurghada and Hurghada–Mombasa as bookable city pairs through its own sales channels, providing a stronger indication that the route has moved beyond a purely theoretical schedule listing. Flight times, frequencies and fares remain subject to change as the December operation approaches.

For Mombasa, the addition comes as airlines continue to expand the range of international destinations served directly from the Coast. The route also gives the Kenyan tourism market another connection into Egypt beyond the established Nairobi–Cairo traffic, while opening Hurghada to travellers originating from the Coast.

The first scheduled service is December 26, rather than December 27, although December 27 is also shown as an operating date under the current timetable.

Source : flightsfrom.com