The five-year timeframe will be crucial for indigenous operators to more suitably and strategically get ready to compete equally with other African major airlines.

Dar es Salaam. Foreign airlines will have to wait for at least five years to start carrying passengers from Tanzania to another country while en-route to/from a home country, as the government demands more time before opening the skies.

Like other African countries that are protecting domestic operators, currently, a foreign airline can carry passengers from its country of origin, land in Tanzania and pick up traffic to the airline’s home country, but not to other foreign countries.

However, under the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999, African countries want to do away with protectionism by opening up Africa’s skies and creating a unified air transport market for the continent.

Asked about the government’s position on the long-awaited plan, Transport permanent secretary Gabriel Migire told The Citizen yesterday that Tanzania will do so gradually.

“Liberalisation of African skies is a good idea but we need to open it strategically,” Mr Migire responded to the question.

“Let’s give ourselves five years to pave the way to preparing local operators to compete fairly,” he added.

Until last month, 34 of the African Union (AU)’s 55 members, representing about 80 percent of Africa’s airline traffic, had indicated support for the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), according to official data.

Of those, 17 have ratified their commitment and are involved in the pilot implementation project (PIP). They are Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Africa, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Zambia, Niger and Gabon. Mr Migire promised that the government will try its level best to create an enabling business environment for domestic operators to be competitive.

He said that his ministry was preparing the Air Transport Stakeholders meeting slated for the end of this month or earlier next month.

During the meeting, stakeholders will discuss challenges that they are grappling with and chart a way forward.

“It is advantageous to open the African skies as competition will drive operating efficiencies, which, in turn, will reduce the cost of air transport and the cost of doing business (in Africa),” said Mr Migire.

Tanzania Air Operators Association (Taoa) executive secretary Lathifa Sykes cautiously welcomed positive changes.

“We are open for positive changes. But the government must ensure that domestic operators and the economy at large do not lose,” cautioned Ms Sykes as she spoke to The Citizen yesterday.

She further added: “The government needs to create a conducive environment for us to be competitive. As of now, we can’t compete.”

She was of the view that the government should look at other countries’ laws and policies so that all African countries could be on the same page and eventually compete on a level playing field.

Aviation expert with decades of experience Juma Fimbo welcomed the government’s decision to give itself five years before ratifying the Yamoussoukro Decision.

During the period, he opined, efforts should be made to promote local airlines and attract foreign investors to come here and invest in Tanzania’s aviation industry.

“Ratifying the Yamoussoukro Decision before preparing local players for competition will be like killing our own aviation industry and economy at large,” warned Mr Fimbo.

To put things into perspective, walking the talk on the Yamoussoukro Decision could mean providing freedom to carry traffic between two foreign countries on a flight that either originated in or is destined for the carrier’s home country.

This suggests that Tanzania’s airlines would now have to compete for customers with giant airlines like South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, EgyptAir, Royal Air Maroc, Air Algerie and Kenya Airways.

Going by the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) data, Tanzania’s aviation industry is predominated by Air Tanzania Company Limited (ATCL) – commanding 52.9 percent of market shares, followed by Precision Air and Auric Air with 22.8 percent and 10.3 percent respectively.

With three percent of local market share, Coastal Travels was ranked at fourth place in 2021, followed by As Salaam Air at 2.8 percent, while other airlines shared 8.6 percent of the market shares.

The open skies for Africa concept was first mooted by the World Bank in November 1988 and adopted by the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) as the Yamoussoukro Declaration.

A lack of support from member states of the OAU and its successor, the African Union (AU), saw it undergo changes in 1999 and again in 2016 when it was repackaged as SAATM and launched by the AU in 2018.

Iata supports the opening up of Africa’s skies and the associated regulatory reform to create greater connectivity.

Source: The Citizen

There’s no easy fix after embassies were forced to close, or suffer staff shortages due to Covid outbreaks. Patience will be needed.

The situation on the ground in China isn’t ideal as the country readies to remove its travel restrictions this weekend.

The head of one major corporate travel agency, based in Shanghai, has warned that companies wanting to restart business trips will face delays because employees will struggle to secure the right travel documents.

“China has suspended passport renewals in the past three years, so now travelers are rushing to have their new passports issued,” said Jonathan Kao, managing director, Greater China at BCD Travel.

“Visas are also an issue as most have expired and some of the major embassies, like the U.S., Germany and Japan, were closed in the last few weeks due to increasing cases of Covid in China leading to staffing issues,” he added.

Corporate travel agency CWT also said many embassies were not operating and processing at pre-pandemic levels, causing significant delays with visa applications.

It looks set to hamper travel to and from China, compounded by other countries requiring pre-arrival PCR tests, and company travel managers are wary despite the doors being flung open.

“Some of our buyer members have issued a company-wide travel advisory as of Jan. 5 restricting travel to and from China to business critical only, and with the approval of their company’s China crisis management team,” said Scott Davies, CEO of the UK’s Institute of Travel Management. “Other buyers are continually evaluating the situation and will make adjustments as necessary in conjunction with their business risk and compliance departments.”

However, he said the overall lifting of Covid restrictions for international travel to China, and the fast-changing Covid-19 test regulations for inbound travelers from China to Europe, had not really presented any major challenges for most travel managers as they became used to similar complexities during the pandemic.

Slow and Steady

Yet while many countries faced severe airline capacity and staffing issues after easing their own border restrictions last year, China is taking a more measured approach with the aviation regulator aiming to gradually reach 75 percent of pre-pandemic traffic in 2023.

“Airlines have been adding new flights in the past few weeks, so this is becoming less of a problem,” BCD Travel’s Kao said. “The prices have actually come down somewhat compared to the month before due to the increase in flights.”

He also pointed to the removal of the country’s “circuit breaker” mechanism, meaning no flights have been forced to be cancelled due to large number of confirmed Covid cases. However, he said average international ticket price continued to be three times more than in 2019.

The prognosis is different at American Express Global Business Travel.

“We expect international capacity recovery will be slow, at around just 12 percent of 2019 available seat miles for the first half of this year,” noted Dan Beauchamp, head of global business consulting, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “International flight options are therefore likely to be limited and fares high, and the situation is unlikely to improve much in the short-medium term.”

There are also ongoing tensions between the U.S. and China regarding routes.

At Spanish corporate travel agency TravelPerk, routes from Germany and Netherlands have showed the largest increase in booking volumes so far.

“It is too early to evaluate the impact of the new travel restrictions set by European Union countries and others, and whether this will knock traveller confidence and ultimately bookings,” said Huw Slater, chief operating officer.

Source: Skift

From a slow start in 2022 at around 70 percent of pre-pandemic traffic levels, European air traffic steadily climbed through the end of the year to a total of 9.3 million flights, or 83 percent of 2019 levels, said a recently released report from Eurocontrol’s Aviation Intelligence Unit. Eurocontrol expects further strengthening this year, projecting an increase to 92 percent of pre-Covid levels.

The positive performance last year came despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which saw the lack of availability of airspace alter traffic flows and significantly affect traffic in Moldova and states adjacent to Russia and Belarus, said the report. The report also projects an uneven recovery across airlines, airports, states, and air navigation service providers, as well as regional flows—all of which varied between 70 percent and 110 percent of 2019 levels on average.

Pent-up demand has returned most airline balance sheets to positive territory for the first time since the pandemic began, even while ticket prices increased, and the energy crisis led to worsening economic conditions across all European countries.

Low-cost carriers, in particular, saw dramatic improvement during 2022, registering traffic totaling 85 percent of pre-pandemic levels during the year, while mainline carriers returned to 75 percent of pre-pandemic levels and regional sectors reached 74 percent of 2019 traffic.

Meanwhile, all-cargo operations and business aviation continued to outpace 2019 levels by 106 percent and 116 percent, respectively.

Delays and punctuality proved worse than in 2019 as the speed of the summer recovery saw staff and capacity shortages across the sector. Arrival and departure punctuality totaled 72 percent and 66 percent, or about 6- to 7 percentage points worse in both cases than in 2019, while peak summer traffic totaled just 40- to 50 percent of pre-Covid levels.

The report also noted that connectivity across the network significantly lags flight levels in virtually every country, highlighting the challenge of returning to pre-pandemic flight levels. Domestic markets in many cases continue to lag the overall recovery averages.

With travel beyond Europe (74 percent of 2019) remaining weaker than intra-European traffic (85 percent of 2019), all of Europe’s major airport hubs apart from Istanbul remained suppressed, totaling between 18 percent and -32 percent below 2019 levels; however, some smaller airports serving mostly European-only destinations ended the year near or above 2019 levels.

On the issue of sustainability, the report notes the pace of change—including more aggressive investment and stronger incentives—needs to accelerate for the industry to reach its carbon reduction targets.

Eurocontrol expects the industry to recover fully in 2025—one year later than it forecast in June 2022, in a ‘base scenario’ prediction that considers weak economic growth, inflationary pressures, and no immediate resolution to the war in Ukraine.

In summary, Eurocontrol said it expects such pressures in 2023 to create the most challenging year of the last decade, adding that summer delays will create an “immense task for all actors,” given airspace issues involving the Ukraine war, extra aircraft in the system, possible industrial action, system changes, and the progressive reopening of Asian markets.

Source: ANonline

African aviation started the year with the weight of COVID still hanging over it. After the emergence of the Omicron variant in late 2021, airlines had been forced to unwind their recently reinstated international flights, as governments added hotel quarantines back to the agenda in a bid to stem the spread. In mid-December, the UK vowed to undo this requirement, finally understanding that it was doing nothing to help public health.

International airlines return

From January onwards, long-haul African airlines made great strides to ramp up their international schedules, as did international airlines flying into African countries. With Australia’s entry requirements also relaxed, flag carrier Qantas resumed regular flights to South Africa in early January, and was rapidly followed by many others.

Some of the most notable international airline route launches and resumptions included behemoth long-haul connector Emirates, which resumed seven routes to African countries before the end of January. These included Johannesburg, Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Dar Es Salam and Harare.

As Morocco opened its borders in early February, international flights returned, including Iberia, which reinstated daily flights to Tangier and nine times-a-week services to Marrakech from its home in Madrid.

Virgin Atlantic, which had resumed flying to Johannesburg in the fall of 2021, took a little longer to add back its second South African destination. Cape Town finally resumed in May, the first for the city since 2015.

US carrier Delta Air Lines has bet big on its African flights, with services to Lagos, Johannesburg and Dakar already in the schedule at the start of the year. In June it also returned to Lagos from JFK, making its second connection to the Nigerian city after Atlanta. Cape Town was also on its agenda, something it locked horns with United Airlines over, but successfully went ahead with in early December via a triangle route connecting the two South African cities with Atlanta.

United got back to South Africa too, touching down to a hero’s welcome in November this year. Qatar never stopped flying to Africa, but has a record 2023 planned for its services. Up to 34 daily departures from Doha will connect 30 African destinations from July, demonstrating the carrier’s enthusiasm for connecting the continent.

Local airlines winners and losers

While the resumption of international connections is positive indeed, local airlines have had a more difficult 2023. The end of Comair (and its Kulula subsidiary) was not entirely unexpected, but still left a large void in South Africa’s connectivity. Mango Airlines, although under business rescue since 2021, is looking increasingly unlikely to return to the skies.

Adding to the exodus was the August liquidation of Tchadia Airlines, leaving the nation of Chad without a national carrier. Nigeria’s Aero Contractors looked ready to pull the plug, but has since notified of a service restart, reportedly resuming flying from Port Harcourt earlier this month.

According to ch-aviation data, two more airlines have officially ended services this year – Eswatini Airlink and Med-View Airline. But it’s not all bad news.

Counterbalancing the end of Eswatini Airlink, new startup Eswatini Air looked set to enter the market this year as it took delivery of its first airplane in March, an Embraer ERJ 145. However, delays with certification means the airline hasn’t operated a passenger flight yet, but gives hope for a new airline in 2023.

Also adding to the mix of forthcoming airlines is Air Arabia’s latest subsidiary, Air Arabia Sudan. No launch date has been given for the startup, but given the group’s track record with subsidiary airlines, we could hope it will actually go ahead next year. Then there’s GhanaAirlines, a carrier being launched by the Ghanaian government in partnership with fellow startup Ashanti Airlines.

Nigeria is eyeing a new carrier too, with Nigeria Air pegged for launch in time for Summer 2023. Having been granted its air transport license by the Nigerian Civil Aviation, that doesn’t seem too far-fetched. And then there’s Eurowings Discover, the Lufthansa Group’s long-haul low-cost carrier. Although it started in 2021, including flights to Windhoek that year, this year saw the launch of the add-on destination of Victoria Falls.

Ch-aviation lists a total of 28 new airlines announced in Africa this year, an incredible number given the challenges startups are facing. Of these, the only active carriers to date are Eswatini Air, MedSky Airlines, Rwandair Cargo and AB Airlines (Congo), but gives hope for more connectivity to arrive once we move into 2023.

Dominating the headlines

Rounding up the biggest stories from African aviation this year is no easy task, as there’s been a whole lot going on. The return of South African Airways drew a lot of attention, particularly given its proposed plan to form a new alliance with Kenya Airways. Having snagged investment from the Takatso Consortium, the carrier is slowly but surely reforming its place in the market, but is being incredibly cautious about which routes it resumes, particularly on the international front.

The widely publicized incident of two sleeping Ethiopian Airlines pilots missing their destination in August highlighted working conditions and pilot fatigue issues. While this incident brought Ethiopian under the spotlight, this isn’t a problem that’s unique to Africa – just look at the labor disputes in the US and elsewhere to see how widespread these concerns are.

Exciting new aircraft additions included the Egyptian government’s VIP Boeing 747-8 finally receiving its coat of paint, ready for entry into service, and African cargo carrier Astral Air becoming the launch customer for the Embraer E190F freighter, as well as the Airbus A320P2F.

Although Royal Air Maroc joined oneworld in 2020, it had to hold off the celebrations until this year due to COVID restrictions. It now looks to be joined by a second African member, as Rwandair eyes the possibility of meeting the alliance’s requirements, naturally with help from its partner Qatar Airways.

Emirate’s on again-off again flights to Nigeria have been a soap opera of a story, with trapped funds at the heart of the issues. IATA recently stated that approximately $2 billion of airline funds are being blocked worldwide, with $1.2 billion accounted for in Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Lebanon, and Algeria.

Compounding Nigeria’s recovery has been a fuel shortage, affecting airlines in the early part of the year. Accusations of some jet fuel being stolen for export have added to the problem, with the shortage seeing aviation fuel prices rising to levels previously unheard of, making it difficult for carriers to operate in the country.

But it’s not only Nigeria that has had a fueling issue. Senegal asked carriers to tanker jet fuel in as it struggled to maintain supply, Johannesburg grappled with issues in May, and Cape Town was hit with a shortage in September. Hopefully, these issues are behind us now, as supply chains begin to settle down and consistency is restored.

The latest reports suggest the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATAM) could be gaining momentum, but that’s a story we’ve been hearing for years. As we head into 2023, hopefully, there will be some movement on this incredibly important issue, which could see African aviation soaring to new heights in the years to come.

Source: Simple Flying

More African states are liberalising travel for their peers, indicating a positive trend towards more open travel policies on the continent.

Africa is moving toward greater integration as more states make progress in their freedom of travel policies, the latest edition of the African Visa Openness Index (AVOI) reveals.

This comes on the back of a revived push for a single African air transport market, with an initial pilot involving 17 African states to facilitate air mobility on the continent.

In a boost for African economies, AVOI figures show travel within the continent has become more open in 2022, with an even split between visa-free travel and travel where a visa can be obtained on arrival.

In the past year alone, 10 countries on the continent have improved their visa openness score, allowing more travellers to enter African countries without restrictions.

Benin, The Gambia, and Seychelles now offer visa-free entry to Africans from all other countries, whereas, in 2016 and 2017, only one country did so.

Twenty-four African states now offer an eVisa, five more than five years ago while 36 others have improved or maintained their Visa Openness Index score since 2016.

Furthermore, 50 countries have maintained or improved their score relative to 2021, often by removing some of the pandemic-induced visa policy restrictions implemented during the pandemic.

Most states (48) now offer visa-free travel to the nationals of at least one other African country, and 42 countries offer visa-free travel to the nationals of at least five other African countries.

Lower-income countries make up a large share of the top-20 ranked countries on the index with liberal visa policies, with 45 per cent classified as low-income and a further 45 per cent classified as lower middle-income.

The AVOI index analyses the visa requirements of each country on the continent and tracks changes in their scores over time.

TRAVEL DEMAND

Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Acting Vice President, Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery African Development Bank (AfDB) notes that Africa has made great strides towards returning to pre-pandemic normality in 2021-22.

“The vast majority of countries eased restrictions on movement. Industries that bore the brunt of the pandemic — tourism, hospitality, and others — are rebounding and travel has surged, both within Africa and around the world,” she stated in response to the report.

“The increase in travel is driven in large part by pent-up personal demand, but also by the realisation that many businesses depend on human movement, and that investment thrives on it.”

The rise in visa-free travel and eVisa availability is seen as a promising development for Africans, who have historically faced significant barriers to travel within the continent.

The easing of restrictions is also positive for African economies, which stand to benefit from increased tourism, and gives impetus to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is gaining traction.

According to African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the links between free movement and the development of regional value chains, investment, and trade in services are clear.

“There is greater recognition that human mobility is key to Africa’s integration efforts,” she said.

While there is still room for improvement, the trend towards more open travel policies is seen by analysts and agencies alike as a step in the right direction, coming at a time when Africa’s post-COP recovery needs all the help it can get.

OPEN SKIES

Seventeen African nations are to start testing the Single African Air Transport Market between their territories, fully opening their skies to each other as part of the pilot – a first for the continent.

Intra-African air travel under the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), an initiative of the African Union to create a unified air transport market in Africa, is edging closer to reality, after 17 countries committed to a pilot programme.

At a meeting in Dakar on November 14, the ministers of transport and aviation from 17 countries launched the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) pilot to open their air transport markets to each other.

The countries are: Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Niger, Gabon and Zambia. 

At the meeting, on the 23rd anniversary of the Yamoussoukro Decision, the nations also agreed to streamline their national airline service agreements.

The Yamoussoukro Decision is a treaty adopted by most members of the African Union establishing a framework for the liberalization of air transport services on the continent. Currently, 35 African countries are signatories of the agreement.

Despite the existence of the treaty, most African airlines have remained under protectionist policies.

SAATM hs receiving backing from key agencies, such as the African Civil Aviation Commission.

According to Adefunke Adeyemi, the secretary general of the African Civil Aviation Commission, “the commission will actively engage and collaborate with stakeholders to proceed with clear actions and timelines to achieve SAATM implementation.”

The 35 countries signed up to the SAATM Solemn Commitment of unconditional implementation constitute over 80 per cent of the continent’s aviation market.

In a 2020 report, Geopolitical Intelligence Services estimates there are 731 airports in Africa, half of which are internationally served by about 419 airlines.

The successful implementation of the Pilot Implementation Project and eventual full take-off of SAATM would have immense benefits for the continent, especially now that there are buzzing trade activities under the African continental free trade area (ACFTA).

According to the International Air Transport Association, IATA, “SAATM will open up Africa’s skies and promote the value of aviation throughout the continent by boosting traffic, driving economies and creating jobs.”

LIBERALISATION BENEFITS

A 2014 survey by IATA, Transforming Intra-African Air Connectivity: The Economic Benefits of Implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision, estimates that liberalisation of 12 African air markets would generate an additional 155,000 jobs to the sector and would attract about US $1.3 billion annually to the GDPs of the individual markets.

An even more recent study commissioned by the African Union dubbed ”Continental Study on the benefits of SAATM and Communication Strategy for SAATM Advocacy” indicates that the initiative would amass US $4.2 billion to the GDP, generate 596,000 new jobs besides leading to 27 per cent reduction in air fares, while also contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, UN-SDGs.

In the short term, the pilot programme presents a lucrative opportunity for airlines from the continent to expand their operations into different markets.

Bilateral agreements between different countries that are current signatories to the SAATM programme and some legible members that will take part in the pilot project provide a great starting point for the full realisation of the programme.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Cote d’Ivoired’Ivoire are the most recent parties to come out and commit to bilateral agreements that appreciate SAATM guidelines. They will reinforce their cooperation in the air transport sector.

Through an agreement signed on 22 November in Abidjan, there were “modifications in accordance with the Yamoussoukro Decision following the commitments made by the two countries for the implementation of immediate measures necessary for the establishment of the single market for air transport in Africa” a joint press statement from the parties read in part.

South Africa, a key player in the continental air travel market, is strengthening its capacity by opening up smaller airports and elevating them to meet continental standards.

For instance, Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, located 27km northeast of Nelspruit, will receive intercontinental flights. Flight 4Y142 from Frankfurt, Germany, via Namibia landed in the facility for the first time on November 16.

The tourism-rich city of Mbombela is projected to reap big from the upscaling of the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport.

The popular recently-signed bilateral agreements between Kenya and South Africa add to a long list of inter-African aviation agreements that offer a base point for realising a single African air market.

Source: The Star