Flying within Africa is more expensive than just about anywhere else in the world. Travellers pay higher ticket prices and more tax.

It is often cheaper to fly to another continent than to another African country.

For a quick comparison, flying from the German capital, Berlin, to Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul, will probably set you back around $150 (£120) for a direct flight taking less than three hours.

But flying a similar distance, say between Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, you will be paying anything between $500 and $850, with at least one change, taking up to 20 hours.

This makes doing business within Africa incredibly difficult, and expensive – and it is not just elite travellers that are affected.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the global trade body representing some 300 airlines which make up about 83% of world air traffic – argues that if just 12 key countries in Africa worked together to improve connectivity and opened up their markets, it would create 155,000 jobs and boost those countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by more than $1.3bn.

“Aviation contributes directly to the GDP in every country. It generates work and it activates the economy,” says Kamil al-Awadhi, IATA’s regional vice-president for Africa and the Middle East.

Adefolake Adeyeye, an assistant professor of commercial law at the UK’s Durham University, agrees that Africa as a whole is missing out because of its poor air service.

“It’s been shown that air transport does boost the economy. As we’ve seen in other continents, budget airlines can improve connectivity and cost, which boosts tourism, which then creates many more jobs,” she says.

The poor quality of road networks and lack of railways in many African countries often makes air transport the practical choice for cargo too.

The climate emergency, which has severely impacted Africa, means everyone needs to be more careful about their carbon footprint and should aim to fly a lot less.

But even though around 18% of the world’s population lives in Africa, it accounts for less than 2% of global air travel and, according to the UN’s Environment Programme, just 3.8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is in contrast to 19% from the US and 23% from China.

Africa may be rich in minerals and natural resources, but of the 46 nations on the UN’s Least Developed Countries list, 33 are on the continent, and poverty continues to be the biggest daily threat for millions of people on the continent.

But there is also a growing middle-class who could potentially travel by air if the tickets were priced at similar levels to Europe or elsewhere.

“Every government in Africa wants to see their flag on the tail of an aircraft at Heathrow or JFK”, Zemedeneh Negatu, Global chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund.

African states have been trying for decades to integrate the aviation sector, but they haven’t been successful, yet.

“There needs to be a coherent strategy by Africa to address the issue of its poor air service if they want to transform Africa’s economies,” says Zemedeneh Negatu, the global chairman of US-based investment firm Fairfax Africa Fund.

He says that flights within Africa are still structured around cumbersome bilateral agreements from one country to the next, and that most flag-carrying state airlines in Africa barely cover their costs, while some even run at a loss.

“Every government in Africa wants to see their flag on the tail of an aircraft at Heathrow or JFK airport, but African governments need to realise that stand alone carriers are not viable.”

Mr Zemedeneh argues that African airlines should take inspiration from Europe and form major partnerships, such as between flag-carriers Air France and KLM of The Netherlands, and the Anglo-Spanish International Airlines Group (IAG) formed between British Airways and Iberia.

He says even in the rich market of Europe, conglomeration is the way forward for airliners to survive, and provide a cheaper more reliable service.

The current system in Africa is very fragmented, and although 35 countries are signed up to the Single African Air Transport Market, an African Union (AU) initiative to free up the skies to African airlines and bring down costs, it could be years before it’s implemented.

IATA’s Mr Awadhi says governments are reluctant to work together.

“There is a hard-headedness where each state thinks they know how to handle it better and will stick to their remedies even when they are not very effective,” he says.

“In the end it’s a business and there is a level of protectionism that starts to hurt the aviation industry. Then there is no benefit to having your own national carrier.”

There is one notable exception in Africa of an airline that is absolutely thriving, and that could provide a blueprint for others to copy – Ethiopian Airlines.

Just over 15 years ago the company employed about 4,000 people. Now that figure is over 17,000.

It is state-owned but run entirely as a commercial venture without government interference.

It has more than doubled the size of its fleet of cargo and passenger planes and has made Addis Ababa a regional hub, driving foreign currency into the Ethiopian capital, and boosting the country’s service industry.

At the turn of the millennium Ethiopia was one of the poorest countries in the world, now it’s one of the fastest growing economies.

Mr Zemedeneh, an Ethiopian-American who played a key role as an adviser to Ethiopian Airlines as it developed its strategy, says Ethiopian Airlines has played a part in that boom.

“Ethiopian Airlines generates millions of dollars in hard currency for the country, and it makes every Ethiopian proud that they have been able to create one of the most successful indigenous African-owned, African-operated, multinational companies,” he adds.

African travellers will be hoping these kinds of commercial successes will ultimately impact their airfares, bringing them down more in line with Europe or Asia – and that they can finally get to where they want to go more quickly and cheaply.

Source: BBC

IATA has released data for May 2023 global air cargo markets showing weak market conditions.

Gobal demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), fell 5.2% compared to May 2022 (-6.0% for international operations).

Capacity, as measured by available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), rose 14.5% compared to May 2022, primarily driven by belly capacity which increases as demand in the passenger business recovers. Capacity is now 5.9% above May 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels.

Key factors influencing demand include:

The global manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) indicates an annual contraction of 1.4% in new export orders and a decrease of 5.2% year-on-year in production PMI. This suggests a cooling in global manufacturing demand.

Global goods trade decreased by 0.8% in April, due to macroeconomic challenges and supply chain constraints. Trading conditions appeared to favour maritime cargo as demand for container shipping contracted by 0.2% while air cargo demand weakened by 6.3% year-on-year.  

The global supplier delivery time PMI increased to 54.5 in May, up from its low of 35 in October 2021, indicating shorter delivery times and some relief for supply chains. However, this is also a sign of weaker global goods trade demand.

“Trading conditions for air cargo continue to be challenging with a 5.2% fall in demand and several economic indicators pointing towards weakness. The second half of the year, however, should bring some improvements. As inflation moderates in many markets, it is widely expected that central bank rate hikes will taper. This should help stimulate economic activity with a positive impact on demand for air cargo,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.

May Regional Performance

Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 3.1% year-on-year decrease in cargo volumes in May 2023. This was a slight improvement in performance compared to the previous month (-6.7%). Capacity increased 15.6% compared to May 2022.

African airlines posted a 2.4% decrease in demand compared to May 2022. This was a decline in performance compared to the previous month (-0.9%). Notably, the growth on the Africa to Asia trade route slowed significantly in May from 18.5% in April to 11.0%, possibly due to the impact of the conflict in Sudan since mid-April. Capacity in May was up 9.2% compared to the same month in 2022. 

Source: Times Aerospace

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recognizes the full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) as the key to realizing the potential of aviation in Africa.

Although SAATM has been gaining pace in recent years, it has not been fully appreciated on a continental level. To date, 34 of the 54 African states have signed up for SAATM, with Uganda considering joining later this year. These 34 countries represent about 80% of the existing aviation market in Africa.

Liberalization of the air transport market

IATA has launched the Focus Africa initiative to enhance air travel’s contribution to Africa’s socio-economic development. It seeks to develop a more secure, reliable, safer, and well-connected continent by unlocking the commercial and economic opportunities offered by aviation.

The initiative will focus on six critical areas, including connectivity. Through this, it will promote the liberalization of intra-Africa market access by implementing SAATM. IATA has predicted that if 12 major countries opened their markets and increased connectivity, up to 155,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in annual revenue would be created in those countries.

Various stakeholders, including airlines, airports, civil aviation authorities, and executing agencies, have come together to promote the liberalization of African markets. Open skies will benefit all countries involved, so now it is time for the decision-makers to come onboard to ensure the effective implementation of SAATM.

 

The importance of the fifth-freedom

Given the vastness of the African continent, air travel is the best way to move people, goods, and services across all regions. About 85% of air travel around the continent is directly from point to point, while the remaining 15% is fifth freedom.

This significantly limits connectivity in Africa, with some airlines not having access to important markets, and the fifth freedom is the key to stimulating the sector’s growth. The African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) Secretary General Adefunke Adeyemi said during the Focus Africa Conference;

“YD grants first to fifth freedoms. It is the combination of these freedoms that makes the traffic flow, and the fifth is the trigger. The fifth freedom is what stimulates traffic.”

According to the Yamoussoukro Declaration (YD), states grant each other the free exercise of the rights of the first to fifth freedoms of the skies on scheduled and non-scheduled flights by an eligible airline to and from their respective territories. However, some states have denied several airlines the right to freedom fights.

 

Effective implementation of SAATM

AFCAC is the executing agency of the Single African Air Transport Market, facilitating the collaboration of African states toward a sustainable air transport market. Today, 23 of the SAATM signatories have also agreed to an application memorandum to remove the restrictions provided for in the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA), contrary to YD.

Advocacy and continuous communication to all stakeholders on the benefits of open skies is a significant step toward ensuring the effective implementation of SAATM. The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA), AFCAC, and other stakeholders want to showcase to states the benefits of having a robust aviation sector, with Ethiopian Airlines being the best example.

Under a new approach, AFCAC has also launched an initiative called the SAATM Pilot Implementation Project, which looks at countries with sufficient parameters to move forward with the implementation of SAATM. So far, about 20 countries have agreed to accelerate the implementation of SAATM.

It is challenging to deal with 54 countries as a united front, so these countries have been broken down into clusters. Adefunke Adeyemi said that one of the most important things is for the countries in these clusters to grant each other market access and fifth freedoms with unrestricted capacity and frequency.

What is slowing down the full implementation of SAATM?

For SAATM to thrive, African states need to facilitate the movement of people and goods by opening up their skies, removing strict visa requirements, and granting foreign airlines access to their markets.

Sometimes airlines apply for fifth freedom rights, and even if the right is granted, they face other impediments, including very high landing costs, prevention from opening local offices, and high inspection costs, to mention a few. Additionally, some states deny fifth freedom rights to more prominent airlines in fear of the competition it gives the national carrier.

SAATM has also not been fully realized because several governments do not prioritize aviation. States have not realized the potential of a thriving air transport sector, so they will be committed to other industries before they invest in aviation. AASA Chief Executive Officer Aaron Munetsi said;

“We must understand some of the major challenges we face. One of the major challenges is that our countries just don’t have the economic power to be able to say that we want to take part of the resources we have and focus only on aviation when schools and hospitals need to be built and when farming and everything else needs to be dealt with.”

However, he added that revenue from airlines and air transport should not be used for other things but to develop airports, air navigation systems, and the entire aviation market. IATA is ready to work with global stakeholders to ensure that SAATM is fully realized and implemented.

Source: Simple Flying

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is launching a new program to enhance safety in the aviation industry. The Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Program (CASIP) will significantly reduce the rate of accidents and fatal incidents across the continent.

The program is part of the IATA Focus Africa initiative and was first announced in Addis Ababa in the presence of most African aviation stakeholders. Focus Africa is meant to enhance aviation’s contribution to the continent’s development, and safety is one of the critical areas that must be addressed.

Partnering for safer skies

Although air travel is the safest mode of transport, much work must be done to make the African skies safer. CASIP launch partners include the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA), and Boeing.

Together, these partners will immediately address the most significant safety concerns and pool their resources to ensure air travel’s safety, reliability, and efficiency on the continent. The African aviation sector is expected to grow rapidly in the next decade, which similarly increases the risk of air incidents.

CASIP partners will use their safety management systems to identify some of these risks, collaboratively develop solutions and analyze the data to inform their decisions. The benefits of enhanced safety will be realized across the economies and societies of the continent. IATA Director General Willie Walsh said;

“Improving aviation safety will play an important role in Africa’s overall development. Safe, efficient, and reliable air connectivity is a major driving contribution to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In that sense, CASIP will make it clear to governments across the continent that aviation must be prioritized as an integral part of national development strategies. With such broad benefits at stake, we hope that other parties will be encouraged to join the CASIP effort”

Safety enhancement involves all stakeholders, including regulatory authorities, air navigation service providers, airline operators, and airport managers, to mention a few. CASIP allows them to unite and ensure safer skies for Africa.

Following global standards

An essential step towards safety improvement is the effective use of global standards for safety. At the government level, an effective measure is the implementation of the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practises (SARPs).

These are intended to assist states in managing aviation safety risks in line with the service providers’ implementation of safety management systems. Data from 2022 shows that only 28 of the 54 African nations reached an effective implementation rate for ICAO SARPs of at least 60%, leaving a lot of room for improvement.

One of the 28 countries is South Africa, which has one of the highest safety standards in the world. The country recently went through an ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP) and received an impressive, effective implementation score of 92%.

This is a 4.6% increase from the last audit five years ago, highlighting the South African Civil Aviation Authority’s (SACAA) commitment to continual safety enhancements.

Ensuring organizational safety

While working to improve safety on the continent, CASIP partners will identify deficiencies in operational safety and implement corrective plans. Additionally, they will launch safety training programs around the continent and make safety-related data available to decision-makers to ensure efficient accident and incident reporting.

Accident reports have proven that poor safety culture in an organization increases safety risks and the probability of severe incidents. IATA has identified that enabling an organizational safety culture requires the application of all employees, starting with the leaders. Willie Walsh added;

“Improving safety performance is a priority for Africa. And we don’t need to reinvent the wheel to deliver the needed results. Collaborative safety teams in Latin America have demonstrated that safety improves when government and industry work together to implement global standards. By working together, the partners will pool resources to have a greater impact on areas where risk can be reduced, leading to measurable improvements in safety.”

The program will be followed at every organizational level and eventually in all African regions. About the partnership, Boeing Director of Safety and Regulatory Affairs, Middle East and Africa Akachi Iroezi said, “From the OEM perspective, there are certain aspects of learning and improvement that we get from working together with the wider industry, and those cannot be discounted.”

SOURCE: Simpleflying                    

Amadeus has acquired a minority stake in Caphenia, a future producer of synthesis gas, the feedstock of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The German-based company has developed an innovative approach to produce SAF in a more affordable and scalable way. The decision is part of a wider commitment on behalf of Amadeus to support the industry on its journey toward sustainable travel.

The investment will offer Amadeus enhanced visibility into the challenges of the SAF sector, allowing the company to further explore the role it can play in this key element of the journey to net zero by 2050. Caphenia, currently in an advanced stage of development, has established an innovative approach to produce synthesis gas from a mixture of biogas, CO2, water and electricity.

This can be used to produce a variety of renewable fuels, with up to a 92 per cent reduction of CO2 emissions compared to the fossil reference value. The company has secured patent protection for its Power-and-Biogas-to-Liquid (PBtL) process in all relevant core markets worldwide, with a total of 203 granted patents. 

Mark Misselhorn, chief executive of Caphenia, said: “Our process is affordable – using one sixth of the electricity needed for alternative SAF production methods – and scalable.

“We have an ambition to offer large scale production by 2028, aiming to fill the gap between anticipated SAF demand and current supply.” 
Misselhorn continued: “For airlines, sustainable aviation fuel is the practical long-term alternative to conventional aviation fuel.

“The technology of cost-effective, producible SAF means the greatest potential for CO2 savings and an important element that, in combination with others, may help in meeting net zero targets.” 

According to the IATA Net Zero Emission initiative, SAF has the potential to account for 65 per cent of the reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions required for the aviation industry to reach net zero by 2050.

New technology is also a key component in contributing to the journey ahead, including electric and hydrogen powered aircraft (13 per cent), carbon offset and capture (19 per cent) and operational efficiencies (three per cent). To reach the 65 per cent reduction in GHG emissions, production capacity of 449 billion litres annually is estimated as needed globally. To provide perspective, SAF production in 2021 stood at just 125 million litres – or less than 0.1 per cent of the required estimated production capacity. Caphenia has plans to commence production next year and is forecasting to produce ten million litres of SAF by 2027, planning to increase to over 100 million litres by 2030 and over one billion litres before 2035.

Suzanna Chiu, head of ventures, Amadeus said: “At Amadeus, we are committed to supporting the move to sustainable travel. “We monitor industry trends and developments to determine the most effective ways we can fulfil this ambition and are delighted to act today with the investment in an innovative SAF company. “The transaction represents a step forward in our sustainability strategy, taking the perspective from a different part of the value chain in the industry. “As the industry moves toward its goal of reaching net zero by 2050, we are taking concrete steps to accelerate the process.”

SOURCE: breakingtravelnews

The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) “Focus Africa” drive is gaining momentum, spurred on by the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) as its newest partners. Focus Africa will strengthen aviation’s contribution to Africa’s economic and social development and improve connectivity, safety and reliability for passengers and shippers.

It will see private and public stakeholders deliver measurable progress in six critical areas: safety, infrastructure, connectivity, finance and distribution, sustainability and skills development.

“Focus Africa is all about establishing a coalition of partners committing to pool their resources and delivering a set of African air transport solutions that let the continent, its people and economies play a greater, more meaningful and representative role in the global economy.  The combined contributions of AFCAC and AASA will be critical to Focus Africa’s success. Africa accounts for 18% of the global population but less than 3% of global GDP and just 2.1% of air passenger and cargo transport activity. With the right interventions those gaps will be closed, and Africa will benefit from the connectivity, jobs and growth that aviation enables,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

“The ability to access, serve and develop intra-African markets is crucial as the continent’s populace is set to increase by over a billion people by 2050. For this to be sustainable, economic opportunities must be created. As other regions have demonstrated, air transport connectivity unlocks broad prosperity. As the African Union’s civil aviation agency, we will support Focus Africa through our work developing a set of harmonized rules and regulations designed to make this connectivity a reality and drive our strategic objectives,” said AFCAC Secretary-General, Adefunke Adeyemi.

“Time is not on our side as AASA’s members and the communities they serve face rising costs, unprecedented unemployment, obsolete constraints on trade and market access, inadequate infrastructure and a looming skills shortage. These demand urgent action, so we do not get stranded on the runway. It is why we have no hesitation standing with IATA and other Focus Africa partners,” added AASA CEO, Aaron Munetsi.

Leaders and decision-makers from airlines, airports, air navigation services, government agencies, aircraft manufacturers, industry suppliers and other stakeholders will convene at the IATA Focus Africa Conference, hosted by Ethiopian Airlines, in Addis Ababa on 20-21 June, to address the six priority task areas in detail.

SOURCE: Breaking Travel News

Today, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is urging governments worldwide to take decisive action in incentivizing the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and establish ambitious targets to meet the demand.

WTTC emphasizes that without a significant supply of SAF, the aviation industry will struggle to achieve its commitment to reach Net Zero carbon emissions by 2050, as supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the industry itself. To attain net zero carbon emissions, the aviation sector aims to:

1. Maximize emission reductions through the use of SAF, as well as innovative technologies like hydrogen and electric propulsion.
2. Deploy fuel-efficient aircraft fleets.
3. Improve operational efficiency, such as in air navigation.
4. Explore out-of-sector solutions like offsetting or carbon capture.

SAF is expected to play a crucial role in achieving net zero emissions by 2050. However, current production rates fall short of meeting the demand, and prices remain high despite recent increases in production.

WTTC is calling for immediate action, emphasizing that governments’ climate goals, aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, and their economic growth commitments are at stake, as aviation is essential for tourism, trade, and global connectivity. To address this urgent issue, WTTC urges governments to:

1. Provide strong incentives, such as tax credits, grants, or financial incentives, to encourage investment in SAF production.
2. Collaborate with the aviation sector to establish ambitious SAF production targets.
3. Coordinate actions through ICAO to ensure global uniformity in SAF regulations, sustainability standards, procedures, and organization.
4. The United States serves as an example of a successful incentive program through the Inflation Reduction Act, which created tax incentives for SAF production.

Julia Simpson, President & CEO of WTTC, emphasizes the need for governments to prioritize sustainable aviation fuel production. She calls for immediate action, as the current production of SAF meets only a fraction of the demand. Simpson emphasizes that financial support and incentives are necessary to bridge the cost disparity between SAF and traditional fossil fuels, and without such targets and incentives, decarbonization of the aviation sector will be
challenging.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also launched a policy, SAF Deployment, which urges governments to facilitate the scaling up of SAF production and promote harmonized policies across countries and industries.

In partnership with ICF, WTTC is launching a white paper titled “Sustainable Aviation Fuels: The Implications & Opportunities for Tourism Destinations.” This publication aims to demystify the impact and benefits of SAF for tourism destinations and outlines three critical actions destinations should take to address the challenge and embrace the opportunities associated with SAF.

SOURCE: Travel News Africa

Kenya Airways Cargo, a division of national flag carrier Kenya Airways (KQ), on Thursday received International Air Transport Association (IATA) Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma certification. This certification of the KQ Pharma Facility confirms the ability of the airline to safely, rapidly and consistently handle time-sensitive, high-value pharmaceuticals that require constant temperature control.

Kenya Airways Cargo, a division of national flag carrier Kenya Airways (KQ), on Thursday received International Air Transport Association (IATA) Centre of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma certification. This certification of the KQ Pharma Facility confirms the ability of the airline to safely, rapidly and consistently handle time-sensitive, high-value pharmaceuticals that require constant temperature control.

The KQ Pharma Facility is dedicated to the safe handling of pharmaceuticals that require temperature control and it was set up in compliance with the guidelines issued by IATA CEIV and the World Health Organization. It covers an area of about 600 m², and is fitted with a real-time temperature and humidity monitoring system, which can be accessed on mobile devices. The facility is subdivided into three sections, which are kept at different temperatures. One section, with a capacity of 40 euro-pallets, is kept in a temperature range of +15 °C to +25 °C. The second section is a cold room, kept in the temperature range of +2 °C to + 8 °C; this has a capacity for 22 euro-pallets on the ground, but extra racking can also be provided. The third section is the freezing room, kept at –20 °C, which can accommodate nine euro-pallets but also has additional racking, for loose cargo.

“Pharmaceutical shipments are extremely challenging and necessitate maximum dependability from airlines,” pointed out KQ director of cargo Dick Murianki. “It is critical to maintain the required temperature so that medication can be used as planned after shipping. Being one of the first African airlines to receive IATA’s international certificate is the result of the work we’ve done over the last few years to strengthen our product.”

KQ currently flies to 42 international destinations, of which 35 are in Africa. It is a member of the Sky Team Alliance. The carrier operates a fleet of Boeing 787-8 widebody, and Boeing 737-800 and Embraer E190 narrowbody, airliners, as well as 737-300F dedicated freighter aircraft.

SOURCE: Engineering News