An increasingly competitive landscape and high airfreight costs have put pressure on air cargo in some landlocked parts of Africa.

Most African shipments are perishables, but for mining economies such as Zambia, which is landlocked in southern Africa, mining-related materials, as a percentage of total imports, have declined in recent years.

Generally, there has been a steady decline of imports and exports since 2018 in the country. Imports to year-end 2021 were down 25%, and exports down 15% over the same period, according to data from NAC2000 Corporation, the only ISAGO registered and certified airport ground services provider in Zambia.

“We observed that due to absence of capacity and prohibitive airfreight cost we have seen mining equipment being progressively sourced and stored via sea and road through depots in South Africa, and trucked within the region, with most non-urgent mining cargo sent by sea and road, much less by airfreight,” said Jonathan Lewis, managing director at NAC2000.

Additional data shows that imports are reducing from a ratio of 80% imports and 20% exports in 2018 to 70:30% respectively in 2021, due mainly to an increase in export volumes primarily in fruit, vegetables and flowers, mainly to the UK and EU, and to a lesser extent regional shipments of live chicks and hatching eggs. Imports were mainly bolstered by an influx of pharmaceuticals and PPE due to the pandemic, but Covid vaccines remain of negligible volumes and have no meaningful impact on import figures.

With GDP across Africa expected to double in 20 years, air travel will inevitably lead to increased trade, and consequently air cargo will benefit – but trade barriers between African countries have historically hindered progress. But now with agreements such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) there is hope for more intra-African trade.

Increased continental trade could foster a more competitive manufacturing sector to create opportunities for industries, including air freight and associated handling.

“My concern is the pace at which this will happen for airfreight regionally,” said Mr Lewis. “I believe that there is potential to leap forward the pace of this trade and development through airfreight, especially for perishable and urgent cargo.”

Mr Lewis reckoned AfCFTA will have less impact for air freight without deliberate implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) and developing more point-to-point routes within the region and continent. “It would be advantageous for Africa’s air transport industry stakeholders to get in on this forecasted movement of cargo with competitive rates, capacity and routes.”

Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa were the most affected in terms of capacity due to the flight restrictions that were imposed on the region at the outset of the Covid Omicron variant. Most cargo from Zambia typically moves on passenger services with regular scheduled services operated by Ethiopian, Kenya Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways and SAA.

Typically, in the Zambian context, monthly passenger numbers rise by 25% in December each year, but in the aftermath of the flight restrictions from the Omicron variant December 2021 saw a fall in aircraft handling, with a 36% dip in monthly passenger numbers, and overall, 64% less than the pre-Covid passenger levels. Mr Lewis reported that cargo had equally been adversely affected, down by 15% in December compared to pre-Covid, but strikingly January 2022 was down by 40%, to its lowest in seven years.

Mr Lewis explained that costs went up as players monopolised routes, drowning out the usual strong demand for perishable exports – but not the premium in freight charges.

“Knee-jerk reactions are very dangerous to our export freight supply chain that supports the perishable exports industry. If it is damaged by an unfeasible supply chain, it will take years to recover – or they could lose their businesses all together.”

Looking ahead, Mr Lewis believed the sector should be looking at sustained, stable growth at manageable rates, otherwise the ever-important flora and horticulture export industry for one will face even more challenges in the future.

Source: The Lordstar

More than 15 flights were on Wednesday night redirected from Kenya’s main airport to as far as Dar es Salaam after a plane stalled, putting its single runway under the spotlight.

The incident, which started at 5 pm, caused a four-hour delay in landings and takeoffs.

The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) says nine flights that were due to land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) were diverted to Mombasa, three to Kilimanjaro, two to Entebbe and one to Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar.

The aviation agency says four more aircraft that were due for departure to different destinations were also delayed.

The delays were occasioned when an aircraft belonging to Fly 540 developed a mechanical hitch on the front wheel, hampering all the activities on the airside.

The incident will lead to hotel booking refunds for affected passengers who were on transit and could have missed their flights following the incident.

KCAA director-general Gilbert Kibe said several attempts by engineering teams from different airlines to remove the stuck aircraft on the runway faced challenges as they were keen not to damage the nose wheel, which had malfunctioned.

“Several attempts to remove the aircraft by engineers was challenging, taking into account the need to avoid breakage of the nose wheel. It took four hours 30 minutes to remove the aircraft and resume normal operations,” said Mr Kibe.

This is just one of the many incidents that have seen flights at JKIA diverted to other airports following paralysis caused by a disabled aircraft on the runway.

In 2018, The Phoenix plane that was flying from Ukunda, Kwale County, developed a mechanical problem on the runway on JKIA following issues with its landing gear, causing a major delay that saw several flights diverted to other airports.

Kenya was supposed to expand the airport with the construction of the Green Field Terminal. However, the plans were cancelled by Transport Cabinet secretary James Macharia.

The JKIA runway is 4,117 metres long and 45 metres wide with 15 metres paved shoulders, making it a code E runway that can handle wide-body aircraft, including the Boeing B747.

JKIA was built in the 1970s to handle 2.5 million passengers annually but is struggling to handle more than six million people a year as its regional importance grows.

Source: Business Daily

The Kenyan Government has tasked Seabury Consulting, part of Accenture, to help Kenya Airways evaluate options to restructure its debt. The retention of an international aviation consultant to prepare an in-depth financial assessment of Kenya Airways was highlighted as essential for the country’s state-owned enterprises (SOE) strategy in a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June 2021.

“Given the special circumstances and uncertainty facing the global airline industry, Kenya Airways has retained an international aviation expert to assist in defining a set of strategies for its future. Kenya Airways has experienced losses in recent years and faces significant future challenges. Sector-specific expertise will contribute to a better understanding of major trends in the regional and local aviation market, the formulation of a viable business model for Kenya Airways and ensure the consideration of all least cost alternatives for the Exchequer,” the IMF said.

Chief Executive Officer Allan Kilavuka was not immediately available for comment.

The move comes as government plans to inject another KES26.56 billion shillings (USD233.7 million) into the debt-ridden carrier and other parastatals, according to supplementary budget estimates by the National Treasury presented to Parliament.

This comes on top of KES53.4 billion (USD470 million) in direct budget support already allocated to the airline for the fiscal year ending June 2022, with the government having promised to absorb KES92.5 billion (USD814 million) of its debts accumulated by the end of 2020.

The extra allocation to the airline and other parastatals constitutes the highest of the National Treasury’s extra spending of KES108.5 billion (USD954.9 million) in the fiscal year ending June 2022, aimed at alleviating unforeseen expenditure due to a drought in parts of the country, security, a petrol subsidy, payments for COVID-19 vaccines, and a general election in August, Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani told the Kenyan Parliament. It also represents a 3.3% increase in the national budget presented in April 2021, thus raising the country’s fiscal deficit from 7.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) to 8.1%, reported Business Daily.

Kenya’s Business Daily reported the airline needs funds for the maintenance of grounded aircraft, payment of salaries, and the settling of utility bills, and to ease the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel demand. Kenya Airways is at risk of running out of funds amid reluctance by commercial banks to extend further liquidity.

The government, which owns 48.9% of the airline, last year decided to reverse earlier plans for its renationalisation.

Source: Ch-aviation

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) continues its campaign to reboot the airline industry and is again calling on governments to relax travel restrictions further as COVID-19 evolves from the pandemic to the endemic stage. IATA wants all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) removed for fully vaccinated travelers.

“With the experience of the Omicron variant, there is mounting scientific evidence and opinion opposing the targeting of travelers with restrictions and country bans to control the spread of COVID-19. The measures have not worked,” said IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh.

“Today, omicron is present in all parts of the world. That’s why travel, with very few exceptions, does not increase the risk to general populations. The billions spent testing travelers would be far more effective if allocated to vaccine distribution or strengthening health care systems.”

Airline capacity still lagging around the world

According to airline analytics consultancy OAG, global airline capacity this week (measured by the number of available seats) is now 25.5% behind the same week in 2019. However, the current capacity is tracking above the equivalent weeks in 2020 and 2021. The bulk of the current capacity is in domestic markets, currently just 11% below the comparable 2019 period. International capacity remains 48% down on the equivalent 2019 period.

Outright border bans in some countries and complex and costly testing and/or quarantine regimes in other countries can make international travel an unattractive proposition to most travelers. That’s having direct flow-through effects on airlines.

Except for Central and Western Africa (where overall airline capacity has increased 4.8% compared to the same week in 2019), current available capacity continues to lag 2019 levels in every other airline market worldwide. In some markets, including Central and Upper South America, there is a relatively small, single-figure gap. In key markets like North America, Western Europe, and North-East Asia, capacity is currently down by 12.5%, 36.5%, and 20.6%, respectively.

Regional airline organizations echo IATA’s view

The biggest regional laggards are the South East Asian and South-West Pacific markets, where capacity is down 47.1% and 49.9%. Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines Director-General Subhas Menon says this is due to strict border measures imposed throughout the region and the emergence of the omicron variant. Mr Menon is singing from the same songsheet as Willie Walsh.

“For meaningful recovery to take place, border restrictions would need to be eased on a consistent basis, and the current multi-layered travel requirements streamlined and simplified for travelers,” he says.

IATA gets behind recent research studies

While there is a clear commercial imperative for Mr Walsh’s 290 member airlines to boost the amount of flying they do, IATA cites a recently published study by Oxera and Edge Health that demonstrates the minimal impact of travel restrictions on controlling travel restrictions the spread of omicron.

The study was specific to the UK. However, it found that the absence of any on arrival testing measures for travelers would have seen the omicron wave peak seven days earlier with an overall 8% increase in cases. Critically, now that omicron is highly prevalent in the UK, if all travel testing requirements were removed, there would be no impact on omicron case numbers or hospitalizations in the UK.

“It is clear that travel restrictions in any part of the world have had little impact on the spread of COVID-19, including the omicron variant. The UK, France, and Switzerland have recognized this and are among the first to begin removing travel measures. More governments need to follow their lead,” said Mr Walsh.

IATA’s Director General argues other governments removing barriers to travel will not only help normalize the airline industry, but it will help the world learn to live with COVID.

Source: Simple Flying

According to an updated report by the African Airlines Association (Afraa), the COVID-19 pandemic continued to hammer Africa’s aviation industry in 2021, resulting in an estimated $8.6 billion revenue loss.

While the figure is less than the $10.21 billion revenue loss recorded by the sector in 2020, it did mark a 49.8% decline when compared to the revenue recorded by the sector prior to the pandemic in 2019.

The report blamed the revenue loss on the stringent travel restrictions placed by governments, in a bid to contain the Coronavirus. While the restrictions were well-intentioned, they also inevitably made it impossibly for African airlines to operate optimally.

As a matter of fact, the traffic volume from January through to December was 42.3% less than what was recorded in 2019.

“Across Africa in general, passenger traffic volumes remain depressed due to the unilateral and uncoordinated travel health restrictions imposed by some governments following the outbreak of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

“Airline revenues have remained low with many operators battling with cash-flow issues. Full-year revenue loss for 2021 is estimated at $8.6 billion, equivalent to 49.8 per cent of the 2019 revenues,” said a part of the report.

The Afraa report further noted that the ongoing political upheaval in Ethiopia also contributed to the loss because traffic volumes into the Horn of Africa country contracted, particularly between November and December last year.

Do note that during the year under review, only three African airlines were able to continue with their international routes expansion, the report said.

Source: Business Insider Africa

Ethiopian Airlines has commenced reactivation of its Boeing 737 MAX fleet. The 737 MAX, which is the first of four passenger jets, has returned to the skies for the first time since the aircraft were grounded in spring 2019.  

The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, registration ET-AVI, was spotted on February 1, 2022. According to Flightradar24.com data, the jet took off from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD) at 09:21 a.m. (UTC) for a two hour-long reactivation flight and returned to the airport around 11.46 a.m. (UTC).  

The jet was the first of four 737 MAX passenger planes operate by the airline before the type was grounded following two fatal crashes. 346 people died when Lion Air Flight 610 crashed on October 29, 2018, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed on March 10, 2019. 

The MAX reactivation follows Ethiopian Airlines’ initial schedule, which was announced by the airline in December 2021.  

At the time, Tewolde Gebremariam, Ethiopian Airlines CEO revealed that it had taken more than 20 months for the airline to regain confidence in the safety of its MAX fleet.  

“We have taken enough time to monitor the design modification work and the more than 20 months of rigorous rectification process…our pilots, engineers, aircraft technicians, cabin crew are confident in the safety of the fleet,” the CEO said in a statement seen by Reuters, which was dated January 2022.  

Gebremariam also noted that safety is the airline’s “topmost priority” and guides “every decision [it] makes and all actions [it] takes”. 

Source: Aerotime Hub

The airline industry is raising the stakes in a showdown with AT&T and Verizon over plans to launch new 5G wireless service this week, warning that thousands of flights could be grounded or delayed if the rollout takes place near major airports.

CEOs of the nation’s largest airlines say that interference from the wireless service on a key instrument on planes is worse than they originally thought.

“To be blunt, the nation’s commerce will grind to a halt” unless the service is blocked near major airports, the CEOs said in a letter Monday, January 17, to federal officials including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has previously taken the airlines’ side in the matter.

AT&T and Verizon plan to activate their new 5G wireless service Wednesday, January 19, after two previous delays from the original plan for an early December rollout.

The new high-speed 5G service uses a segment of the radio spectrum that is close to that used by altimeters, which are devices that measure the height of aircraft above the ground.

Two weeks ago, the companies struck a deal with the Federal Aviation Administration to delay the service for two more weeks and reduce the power of 5G transmitters near airports. That delay ends Wednesday, January 19.

AT&T and Verizon say their equipment will not interfere with aircraft electronics and that the technology is being safely used in many other countries. Critics of the airline industry say the carriers had several years to upgrade altimeters that might be subject to interference from 5G.

The CEOs of 10 passenger and cargo airlines, including American, Delta, United, and Southwest, said 5G will be more disruptive than they originally thought because dozens of large airports that were to have buffer zones to prevent 5G interference with aircraft will still be subject to flight restrictions announced last week by the FAA and because those restrictions won’t be limited to times when visibility is poor.

“Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially be grounded. This means that on a day like yesterday, more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers would be subjected to cancellations, diversions or delays,” the CEOs said.

Source: AFAR

Following the worst crisis commercial aviation has ever experienced, Ethiopian Airlines is now cash positive and profitable, its chief executive officer Tewolde Gebremariam said on Thursday. How it got there? Riding the updraft of a booming air freight market.

E-commerce and medical supplies

When physical stores closed down, people suffering from lockdown boredom took to online retail therapy. As entry restrictions erupted across the globe, regular supply chains were disrupted. As a result, the e-commerce business flourished, Jeff Bezos added a few more billions to his fortune, and airlines were thrown a lifeline in the form of soaring air cargo demand.

Passenger seats were quickly expelled from widebody aircraft in so-called ‘preighters’ to make space for more cargo – for some time nearly worth its weight in gold. Ethiopian Airlines was one of the first commercial carriers to turn to freight to generate revenue throughout COVID. It has succeeded in keeping the momentum going.

“For us, Ethiopian Airlines, the cargo business is strong and I would say is a breadwinner in the group,” Gebremariam said during a video link to a conference in Dubai, as reported by Reuters. “We are cash-positive. We are profitable,” he continued.

Strategic hub for pharma and goods

The crisis has seen the airline and Addis Ababa become an important hub for the transport of vaccines and other medical supplies onwards to the continent. Ethiopian Airlines also strengthened its position as Africa’s leading pharmaceutical carrier at the end of last year when it received the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) certification.

The Ethiopian Airlines CEO further stated that his airline had made it through the pandemic this far with its own finances and without relying on any bailouts. It has even offered pay-rises and bonuses to airline staff. The carrier is now back to about 70% of pre-pandemic operations.

No signs of slowing down

The LoadStar is reporting that there is no expectation of air cargo demand – or rates – dropping any time soon. With passenger traffic again slowing down due to Omicron concerns, belly capacity is reducing, and airlines with dedicated cargo fleets stand to gain.

Ethiopian Airlines operates three permanently converted Boeing 737-800s and nine 777Fs. However, at the height of the crisis, it converted several Airbus A350s, Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 777s, 767s, and additional 737s in order to boost cargo capacity.

No passengers to Dubai since Christmas

Meanwhile, passenger airline traffic is still far from making a recovery, Gebremariam warned his fellow conference-goers. He criticized what he sees as fragmented approaches from governments, creating bottlenecks and slowing down recovery.

Dubai, the host of the event, currently has an entry and transit ban in place on those who have been in Ethiopia and 13 other African countries. As a result, Ethiopian Airlines has not flown passengers to Dubai since Christmas.

Source: Simple Flying

Kenya has suspended all inbound and transit passenger flights from the United Arabs Emirates (UAE) to retaliate against Dubai’s move to ban all passenger flights from Kenya over fake Covid-19 tests.

In a statement, Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) said the suspension took effect Monday midnight for a period of seven days.

The ban does not, however, affect cargo flights that are normally flown by carriers such as Kenya Airways and Emirates airline from UEA into Kenya.

“Inbound and transit passenger flights from UAE are suspended for a period of seven days. We are doing this to reciprocate a ban on Kenyan passenger flights to UAE,” Director-General Gilbert Kibe said. 

The ban comes barely two weeks after UAE extended Kenya flight ban after it established that travelers from Nairobi were testing positive for Covid-19 after arrival in the Middle East nation, despite carrying negative test results.

On December 20, the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) announced a 48-hour suspension on all flights from Kenya after several passengers arriving from Nairobi tested positive for Covid-19. 

However, the Arab League nation extended the ban that was to end on  Christmas eve

“Until further notice, flights to and from Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda are suspended,” DCAA said.

It asked passengers who have been in or transited through these countries in the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter or transit through Dubai,” said the notice from the airline.

“They banned flights from Kenya due to many false negative Covid-19 PCR results. The Ministry of Health is investigating and will report findings soon,” KCAA said. 

The aviation tiff between the two is likely to hurt Kenya’s growing labour export to the UAE, considering that majority were yet to travel back after Christmas festivities. 

Government data shows that there are at least 40,000 Kenyans working in UAE, with the figure rising by the day. 

Even so, this is not the first time Kenya and UAE are embroiled in an aviation war. 

In March, Kenya blocked UAE’s push to have more flight frequencies by the Emirates Airline.

This, despite Dubai writing to Nairobi not to fly any carrier with more than 220 passengers into its territory yet Emirates is using aircraft of more than 400 seat capacity into Nairobi.

This angered Kenya, with the Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia calling out the Arab nation for unfair air transport trade. 

According to him, Emirates was seeking an additional daily flight to Nairobi yet it does 14 weekly flights.

“When you add Etihad Airlines and Air Arabia, in total they have 28 weekly flight frequencies against Kenya Airways’ seven, an arrangement that is a skewed advantage in favour of airlines from the Gulf region,” Macharia said. 

The CS said Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airlines and Air Arabia—all designated to fly from the UAE—currently have a combined weekly seat capacity of 15,400 against Kenya Airways’ 5,510.

”Giving Emirates more flight capacity means they will get 90 per cent of business between Nairobi and Dubai while KQ receives 10 per cent. This is not tenable,” said CS Macharia.

He said Emirates Airlines benefits from substantial government subsidies and can sell out the seats in the Nairobi-Dubai route at throw-away prices due to the support.

More than a decade ago, Nairobi and Dubai were involved in a bitter diplomatic exchange after four members of the Dubai royal family were kicked out by immigration officials in Nairobi on suspicion that they were a terror gang.

Dubai retaliated by imposing restrictions requiring all Kenyans entering the UAE to present proof of higher education to obtain a visa.

The 2010 incident triggered fear of deportation among thousands of Kenyans working in the Gulf nation, prompting truce talks.

Even so, the two nations have enjoyed a cordial relationship, more so during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tenure. 

In 2014, Uhuru travelled to UAE where he held talks with rulers from Jordan and UAE on expanding and deepening cooperation in areas of mutual interest between Kenya and the UAE.

The discussions were centered around issues of security, combating terrorism, and stemming out radicalization.

In 2018, UAE and Kenya signed a memorandum of understanding that aimed to promote cooperation in domestic employment.

The MoU, which is complemented by a cooperation agreement on domestic workers, was signed by Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, and Ukur Yatani, then CS Labour and Social Protection.

Dubai said the MoU was the outcome of solid cooperation in employment and includes the regulation of the recruitment and employment of Kenyan labour and the work of the private recruitment agencies, with the aim of adopting transparent practices in all stages of the contractual work cycle.

In 2019, Kenya lobbied Dubai officials to support Kenyatta’s Big 4 Agenda and held talks over logistics, infrastructure, retail, tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and finance. 

In February last year, Uhuru sent Interior CS Fred Matiang’i to Abu Dhabi for bilateral discussions on security sector collaboration between the UAE and Kenya.

Matiang’i and his host His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed also discussed the possible easing of VISA restrictions for Kenyans travelling to the UAE in the wake of the Covid- 19 pandemic.

Source: The Star

Africa has the oldest aircraft fleet in the world. Despite Africans representing more than 17% of the world’s population, their aircraft fleets amount to roughly 6% of global commercial passenger and cargo aircraft in 2020, the African Airlines Association (AFFRA) data indicates. This means that Africa has the lowest level of aircraft per capita of any other region in the world.  

For the past two decades, the average age of global aircraft fleets has varied between 10 and 12 years. In comparison, the average fleet age across Africa stands at around 17 years, the oldest of any world region.  

For instance, according to Planespotters.com data, South African Airways, South Africa’s flag carrier, operates a fleet of 14 jets with an average age of 15.4 years. Meanwhile, Nigerian carrier Arik Air has a fleet of 18 jets, with an average service age of 14 years. 

Similarly aged fleets are also operated by the national airline of Tunisia, Tunisair (14 years in service on average) and Air Algerie (13.9 years on average).  

Even the Moroccan national carrier, Royal Air Maroc, one of the largest African airlines by aircraft size, which joined the Oneworld alliance in 2020, flies 59 passenger aircraft that have already spent 13 years in operation.  

However, not all major carriers in the region operate such aging fleets. For example, Kenya Airways, a primary competitor airline of Royal Air Maroc, flies 39 aircraft, which have already spent a decade on average in passenger operations. Meanwhile, Egyptair, another large African carrier and the operator of 68 passenger jets, boasts an even younger fleet where the average age of a jet is just over seven years.  

Even the leading African airline operates a relatively old fleet. Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier, operates almost twice as many aircraft as Egyptair. The data shows that the Ethiopian government-owned company flies 130 jets that have completed almost eight years of service.  

Elderly planes usually have a longer list of former owners. For example, an 18.2-year-old Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737-700 jet, registered as ET-AVO, was previously owned by Aeromexico and Sun Country Airlines before it was passed to the hands of its current owner.  

Another Boeing 737-700 aircraft, the EI-GVW, which is currently owned by Arik Air, has been in operation for 11 years. Initially delivered to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in 2011, the jet was re-registered and handed over to Mongolian carrier Eznis Airways in August 2011. But a month later it was leased by African airline Arik Air.  

South African Airways is another example of an African carrier that successfully uses older planes for commercial passenger services. The company’s Airbus A340-300 jet, the ZS-SXG, is more than 21 years old and was primarily used to serve Spanish carrier Iberia’s flights between 2001 and 2010. In March 2010, the aircraft, which was initially registered as EC-HQF, received a new registration number, F-WJKF, and was transferred to Airbus Financial Services before it joined South African Airways.  

What will African aircraft fleets look like in the future? 

While the region’s leading airlines operate much older planes, some experts have noted that there is a more promising outlook for the future.  

American plane manufacturer Boeing states that the global commercial fleet in 2021 was composed of 25,900 aircraft. In the Boeing Commercial Market Outlook, a long-term forecast of commercial air traffic and aircraft demand, the company forecasts that the global fleet will consist of around 49,405 jets by 2040. The majority, reportedly 43,610 planes, will be newly delivered aircraft that will expand the existing airlines’ fleets or will become replacements for older jets.  

Boeing estimates that the aviation market in Africa will see a demand for 1,030 new planes valued at around US $160 billion. Such a demand for the emerging African market will be driven by the anticipated 3% annual economic growth over the upcoming two decades, Boeing analysts say. They add that this should result in the need for more than 63,000 new aviation staff by 2040, including 19,000 pilots, 24,000 cabin crew, and 20,000 technicians. 

The continent expects 740 new deliveries of narrow-body jets as well as 250 wide-body aircraft over the next 20 years, meaning that fleets across the African region are expected to grow by around 3.6%.  

It is also expected that 80% of African aircraft deliveries will serve fleet growth with more sustainable aircraft such as the Boeing 737, Boeing 777X, and Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Meanwhile, the remaining 20%, will serve as a replacement for older commercial planes.  

Source: Aerotime Hub