To spot Africa’s path to post-pandemic economic recovery, look to the skies: no region has more to gain by making air travel and cargo movement easier, cheaper, safer and more competitive.

Through this avenue, African leaders have a tremendous opportunity to revive their economies and create jobs for their young populations, not least through the $6 of related economic activity for every $1 value commercial aviation makes.

Africa’s commercial aviation gap

Despite this potential, Africans, 17% of the world’s population, accounted for only 3% of air passenger figures in 2019 before the coronavirus outbreak. Last year, with global air travel at just 42% of 2019 levels, Africans were only 1.9% of air passengers.

Pre-pandemic, the passenger load factor and traffic for flights in Africa were the lowest in the world, reflecting both a lack of passenger confidence and affordability. Africa also ranks last regarding key “connectivity” indicators used by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to measure the integration of countries within the global air transport network.

It shouldn’t be that way.

As a significant proportion of Africa’s road network is unpaved, air transport can uniquely connect cities and allow to flow between them key economic activity and people.

Challenges to overcome

In 2019, Africa had 352 commercial airports and 198 airlines, the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) says. However, only 33 Africa-based carriers received Airlineratings.com safety ratings and only eight received the group’s highest rating.

Unfortunately, the pandemic isolated the African continent and weakened critical links between neighbouring countries. Businesses were cut off from key markets and consumers lost access to goods as soaring ocean freight rates prompted carriers to skip African port calls and divert ships to more profitable Asia-U.S. routes. As a result, African shipping tonnage fell 10% and countries such as Kenya lost direct connections to some foreign countries.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was broad recognition of the urgent need to pry open African air transport through sweeping deregulation. Thirty-four countries, accounting for 80% of the continent’s aviation activity, have signed up for the Single African Air Transport Market, a 2018 open-skies initiative of the African Union. SAATM aims to harmonize aviation standards, lower air tariffs, open Africa to more flights and foreign carriers and boost air cargo competition.

This initiative is a great start, which private sector actors must continue to support. Governments can no longer protect money-losing national carriers at the cost of discouraging competition and keeping ticket prices high and service quality low.

Air travel is too often seen as a privilege reserved for the wealthy and a source of tax revenue, not an economic multiplier to be expanded as a necessary public utility. Chronic under-investment means airport infrastructure is antiquated and fleets are comparatively old. Lengthy transit times and cumbersome visa requirements also add maddening delays and unpredictability to travel.

“Air travel is too often seen as a privilege reserved for the wealthy and a source of tax revenue, not an economic multiplier to be expanded as a necessary public utility.”

— Hassan El Houry, CEO, National Aviation Services

A development imperative

While commercial aviation’s economic footprint and impact are enormous, the sector’s growth-spurring potential in Africa is largely untapped. A study for ATAG found that commercial aviation contributed $63 billion to African GDP in 2019 – only about a third of what it added to GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region with just 58% of Africa’s population.

In Europe, North America, Asia and, increasingly, the Middle East, the rise of low-cost carriers has boosted passenger traffic, flights, connections, carrier choices and cargo volumes. Competition has lowered ticket prices and democratized air travel. Investment in infrastructure, technology and staff training have produced tremendous gains in airport retail receipts, productivity, wages and government revenue.

All of these hold important lessons for Africa’s aviation sector.

Business travel in Africa appears to be recovering, however. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) says business travel spending was on pace to increase 36% in 2021 (the second-fastest growth rate after the Middle East at 49%) and it forecasts a 23% increase for Africa in 2022.

That boost in business travel is critical to the health of the industry because it represents a disproportionate share of spending and profits. Before the pandemic, business travellers made up around 12% of global travellers but accounted for a whopping 70% of revenue for high-end hotels and 55%-75% of airline profits, the WTTC says.

African governments and private sector actors in aviation must harness this momentum to make needed changes and accelerate the industry’s growth.

In addition to being a bridge to markets, investment, technology and talent, aviation is what will knit African economies together for mutual gain. For Africa to soar, it needs aviation.

Source: World Economic Forum

Rwanda will now have full control over her upper aerial space, nearly five decades in the hands of the government of Tanzania.

A handover deed was signed last week by both governments after Rwanda notified of her intention to withdraw and directly discharge her responsibility of providing air traffic services in her upper airspace.

Silas Udahemuka, Director General of Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA) and Tanzanian counterpart Hamza Johari, alongside Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Infrastructure Fidèle Abimana as well as Barry Kashambo, Regional Director of ICAO Eastern and Southern African (ESAF), presided over the signing ceremony in Kigali.

According to RCAA, the country’s upper airspace was delegated to Tanzania in 1973 for provision of air traffic services.

However, officials said, to be able to regain her airspace, Rwanda fronted different reasons including improving safety in Kigali Flight Information Region (FIR) as well as meeting regulatory requirements such as Search and Rescue (SAR) obligations.

And following several coordination meetings led by The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Rwanda was permitted to continue with the process to take over the airspace.

ICAO ordinarily gives the control of the upper airspace.

According to Serge Tuyihimbaze, an aviation expert based in Kigali, countries delegate provision of air traffic service for either technical, operational, safety or efficiency considerations.

Tuyihimbaze, who is also the Managing Director at Leapr Labs-a local drones company, argues that the opportunity in delineation of airspace lying across national boundaries could be targeting the proposed value alongside the previous aspects.

“But the opportunity cost in my opinion is around any barriers that may result in delegation of state sovereignty over airspace for provision of air traffic services,” he said.

“Of course having full control of your territory, being the airspace and ground, means a lot politically, looking at factors like independence, and others… And economically, if there was a big cost related to the provision of such services, the cost is saved! Or if real-time processing of Air Traffic data for future use is an option, this can have a good impact economically through Data Science innovations.”

For Alex Nwuba, a regional aviation analyst, countries may not wish to or cannot afford to offer navigation services over their upper airspace, in which case they delegate it over to another country or agency.

Much as Rwanda is restraining its upper space, Nwuba said, it is still a participant in the East Africa Community Unified Flight Information Region (UFIR) that creates a single block of upper airspace over Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda, operating from a single area control centre under the regional open skies agreement.

“Thus it negates any opportunity cost. In Europe, this control is by Eurocontrol and AESCHNA with the francophone African nations who share the benefits.”

Nwuba shared similar sentiments with Tuyihimbaze, citing that the economic gains include collection of overflight fees while security makes a big part of the security gains.

Matthias Twahirwa, a pilot who spoke to The New Times, explained that up until recently, all aircraft flying over Rwanda above 24500 ft. didn’t need the country’s permission, but they needed permission from Dar es salam.

This was also particularly the same case for Rwanda which could not launch any object in space without Tanzania’s permission.

“Imagine if we started launching weather balloons, satellites now that we have the space agency. All that would be easy, since we would have our space back. It’s like having land but not owning the rights to use it however you want.”

On the economic front, some countries can make up to $1 million a day from airspace usage, according to Twahirwa.

Besides the handover ceremony, Johari accompanied by Tanzanian delegation, also visited Kigali International Airport and held a meeting with Rwandan aviation stakeholders including the management of Rwanda Airports Company and RCAA.

Both sides, officials said, shared experiences and best practices in regulatory services.

Source: The New Times

The aviation industry doesn’t just provide employment, economic growth, and rapid connectivity across the world, it also plays an essential role in transporting food to remote locations, conducting search and rescue operations, and is even involved in rapid medical repatriation.   

While serious medical emergencies typically require an air ambulance or helicopter, medical repatriation can also take place on a commercial flight.  

But just how easy it is to transport a patient via a scheduled flight? What are the logistical issues? And what are the positives? AeroTime investigates.  

Medical repatriation on scheduled flights – commonplace or a rare occurrence? 

There are many reasons why people need air medical services, including commercial airline repatriation. While severely injured or ill patients are typically taken care of by a private air ambulance, helicopters or executive jets, medical repatriation on a commercial flight can be a viable alternative depending on the patient’s medical state and the flight route.  

Medical repatriation on commercial flights is a common practice in the global healthcare and aero-medical industry, managing director at the European Aero-Medical Institute (EURAMI), Claudia Schmiedhuber told AeroTime.  

“There are several companies within the global industry that are specialized in this sector and provide commercial airline medical escorts to thousands of patients every year. Medical escorts take place every day all over the world,” Schmiedhuber said.  

Generally, all commercial airlines that take patients on board require a pre-travel medical clearance, called Medical Information Form (MEDIF), which must be approved well in advance by the carrier’s medical department. The patient’s medical repatriation can only take place with the clearance.  

Schmiedhuber added: “Usually, most of the commercial airlines allow for commercial medical repatriations to take place on their aircraft. However, there are limits in route network and the patient’s conditions which might cause repatriation to be denied.” 

What are the options for medical repatriation on commercial flights? 

Generally, there are three different ways for patients to fly commercially, according to a Medical Air Service report. These are commercial airline repatriation with a medical escort, commercial airline repatriation on a stretcher, and commercial repatriation in a patient transport compartment (PTC). 

Depending on the needs of the passenger and the approval of the airline, patients can be accompanied by a medical crew. Ordinally, patients with a medical escort must book either business or first-class cabins, meaning that the possibility of traveling with a low-cost carrier is greatly reduced.  

Commercial airline stretcher repatriations can be conducted where patients may not be able to use first or business class seating due to physical limitations from injury or illness. The commercial airline stretcher service is usually accommodated at the back of the airplane with a temporary screen to allow for privacy during the flight. 

Meanwhile, seriously ill passengers who need intensive care have the option to travel lying down in a patient transport compartment (PTC). The medical and technical equipment in a PTC is equivalent to that in an air ambulance. 

However, it is worth noting that there are only a few carriers that allow flights with a stretcher or patient transport compartment services.  

“Not all patients are allowed to travel commercially.” 

“It must be understood that airlines do not accept all patients on their aircraft,” Schmiedhuber told AeroTime. 

“Reasons to deny a patient might be, for example, a serious condition, patients who cannot sit up for departure and landing,” Schmiedhuber explained. 

In addition, being able to fly commercially may be denied if the patient’s health condition endangers other passengers. For example, patients with infectious diseases or, in some cases, mental health conditions must be taken care of by an air ambulance. 

What are the main logistical challenges? 

While commercial airline repatriation is a low-cost alternative to traditional air ambulance or helicopter services, there are several logistical challenges, Schmiedhuber explained.  

Major challenges include receiving medical clearance and assuring that all necessary equipment is being carried. In addition, time management becomes an important factor when an injured or ill passenger has a connecting flight. 

“Traveling with a medical patient normally requires more time when transferring to a different flight,” Schmiedhuber said. “Also, with the recent ever-changing COVID-19 related restrictions it has become complicated to assure smooth journey. Organizing transportation very much depends on the patient’s location, destination as well as the patient’s condition.” 

Not surprisingly, planning for a medical airline repatriation can range from a few hours to multiple days. But despite the challenges linked to transporting patients commercially, Schmiedhuber said that there are many advantages to medical repatriation on a scheduled flight.  

“Patients can travel quite comfortably with sufficient space for medical care, shorter connections and flight times as well as cost-effectiveness,” Schmiedhuber explained.  

For instance, the cost of commercial airline repatriation can start from roughly $10,000, while the cost of air ambulance services can start at $30,000. 

Will medical airline repatriation become even more prevalent? 

While medical airline repatriation cannot entirely replace air ambulance or helicopter services, the transportation of injured or seriously ill passengers on scheduled operations will likely begin to rise.  

“I believe that we will see an increase in travel activity over the next few years which will increase the demand for medical repatriations on both air ambulance and commercial carriers,” Schmiedhuber explained. “One aspect in favor of commercial carriers is that we see more and more routes being developed which will help to transfer patients with less connections necessary.” 

Schmiedhuber added: “I think that we will see more commercial medical repatriations being performed in the future and more carriers adapting their fleet and service offerings.” 

Source: Aerotime Hub