Lufthansa Group and United Airlines to turn Brussels into US-Africa hub.

According to reports that have appeared in German media, Lufthansa Group and its Star Alliance partner United Airlines are working on a project to boost air connectivity between the US and Africa by way of Brussels Zaventem airport (BRU).

As yet few details are known about their plans, although German aviation news site aero.de has quoted Lufthansa’s CEO Carsten Spohr stating that the scope of the project is going to be significant and that it will involve Brussels Airlines, the group’s Belgian subsidiary. 

Brussels Airlines currently serves 18 destinations across Africa. Like its predecessor, Sabena, Brussels Airlines has traditionally been a major player in the Europe-Africa market, linking the Belgian capital to multiple destinations across the continent.

Spohr reportedly claimed that, after a period of retrenchment, the time has come to boost Brussels Airlines African business again. This is also in line with what Brussels Airlines’ CEO, Dorothea von Boxberg, told Dutch airlines news site Luchtvaartnieuws.nl in an interview in February 2024, outlining the plan to strengthen the role of Brussels as an Africa-focused hub.

The general thrust of this plan seems to be to facilitate the channeling of traffic between this extensive African network and Transatlantic flights operated by United Airlines, and possibly Air Canada, which is also a Star Alliance member.

As of March 2024, United Airlines operates daily flights to Brussels from three of its US hubs, New York-Newark (EWR), Washington-Dulles (IAD) and Chicago O’Hare (ORD). Brussels Airlines, in turn, flies daily to New York-JFK.

Source: Aerotime

Open skies could earn EAC $200 million annually: study.

Airspace liberalisation between five East African Community member countries of Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi could result in an additional 46,320 jobs and $202.1 million (approx: Rwf 164.5 billion) annually in GDP, according to a study on the economic impact of liberalisation.

Airspace liberalisation between five East African Community member countries of Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi could result in an additional 46,320 jobs and $202.1 million (approx: Rwf 164.5 billion) annually in GDP, according to a study on the economic impact of liberalisation.The September 2016 policy briefing by the East African Business Council (EABC) and the East Africa Research Fund (EARF) says a substantial body of research has repeatedly found that aviation liberalisation has led to increased traffic volumes, greater connectivity and choice, and lower fares.“Quantitative analysis, based on data from East Africa, provided robust and compelling evidence that liberalisation leads to 9% lower average fares and a 41% increase in frequencies, which in turn stimulate passenger demand,” the study said.

The EABC Executive Director Lilian Awinja, last week, informed members of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) that the business community is “very concerned” about the  high cost of air transport attributed to the slow pace of liberalisation .She said flight costs, both passengers and cargo, are high and thus contributing to a high cost of doing business.Awinja said: “Despite the commitments of Partner States at the international level, and the integration efforts through the Common Market at the regional level involving liberalisation of services, the EAC domestic air transport sector remains over-protected.”This over-protection, she explained, translates into less accessible and unaffordable air transport at the expense of potential users.Also worrisome, Awinja said, is the time it takes to move around the region by air.

The apex body of regional businesses and corporates carried out a study on the costs and benefits of open skies and is set to provide more details on the issue during a validation workshop in April.Richard Ndahiro, a Uganda-based regional financial services professional, told The New Times that: “Air tickets in EAC are prohibitively expensive; it costs $15 to travel by bus from Kigali to Kampala, and $300 by air. One is painfully forced to sit on a bus for a 10-hour journey, instead of a 45 minute flight.”“A road passenger travelling to Kampala has to forego two days of travel, considering the return trip. The Entebbe-Nairobi flight of 50 minutes is almost the cost of flying to Dubai,” Ndahiro said, adding that the latter costs $500 on an Emirates flight. Disregarding possible connecting flights, Entebbe is nearly 2,300 miles away from Dubai while Entebbe is “a stone throw away” from Nairobi.“We are slowly moving away from an era where essential services like communication, and banking were priced to become elitist. Why not air transport? With the right pricing, passengers will opt to fly than endure long road trips.”Concerned by his nearly 10-hour flight from Arusha, in Tanzania to Kigali, Daniel Kidega, the EALA Speaker, promised the Assembly will help push for things to get better. He said the Assembly will bring to task the Council of Ministers, the bloc’s central decision-making and governing organ, to explain what the EAC Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) is doing to domesticate the region’s airspace.

The EABC is appealing for adoption and operationalisation of the EAC air transport regulations by all Partner States to be expedited. It requests that harmonisation of regulatory fees and charges be done in the region in order to have a level playing field, and urges countries to provide national treatment to EAC national air operators, passengers and cargo in all the countries.Eunice Muhoro, a Kenyan trader, told The New Times that, recently, increased demand for air cargo services within east Africa has been witnessed and there was a shortage to intercity or inter-regional air capacity to move fruits and vegetables for export.She explained that there is need to have 10-20 tonne freighters to handle consolidated cargo in the region “hence the need to implement the Fifth Freedom among Partner States to minimise air transport costs and increase flights’ turnaround.”Fifth freedom is the right to carry passengers from one’s own country to a second country, and from that country to a third country, and so on. Muhoro said: “This is the time to transform our region into a global asset, reduce transport costs, grow our economy, and significantly improve quality of life for our citizens, making east Africa truly the place to live, work, raise families and do business.”Neglected, under-researched, under-exploited. A joint UK Department for International Development (DfID)-EAC research proposal on the costs and benefits of ‘open skies’ in the bloc notes that while there are many benefits to economic  development from open air markets in other parts of the world, in the EAC the sector has remained neglected, under-researched and under-exploited.

Although there has been progress through the development of regulations in the 1990s governing trade air transport services in the EAC known as the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs), studies indicated that BASAs are restrictive and uncompetitive. The research proposal notes that ownership issues have caused most concern for EAC countries and airlines, where airlines may be deemed national carriers but are not majority owned by African nationals. Fastjet, a British-based holding company for a group of low-cost carriers operating in Africa, is used as an example. It is noted that, while under Tanzanian law, Fastjet is a Tanzanian carrier, other countries do not accept the designation because under their own national legislation, that designation would require ownership (or majority ownership) by Tanzanian nationals.Implications for region.

According to the EABC-EARF policy briefing note, a substantial body of evidence has developed over the last 10-15 years examining the impacts of BASA liberalization for both the aviation sector and the wider economy. Studies from around the globe found that liberalization allowed new carriers to enter the market and “existing carriers to better respond to demand. ” This resulted in lower fares for passengers and more travelers being able to access air services. However, more recently, research has found similar effects occurring in Africa where governments have chosen to remove restrictions on air services,” reads the policy brief. The document also emphasises that benefits of air service liberalization extend well beyond the aviation industry and passengers and contributes to greater trade and tourism, inward investment, productivity growth, increased employment and economic development.

Liberalization of airspace would definitely be a catalyst for more people traveling by air and thus boosting tourism, agreed Davidson Mugisha, Director of Wildlife Tours Rwanda, a local tour operator. Mugisha added: “Many people think that air travel is a privilege of the few. A return Kigali-Entebbe flight costs around $300. That’s a lot of money for a 30-minute flight. “The more people afford air transport, he said, the more tourist revenues and this would “positively impact on the sector’s infrastructure development so that we accommodate the increased demand” and, this too comes with additional economic benefits. During the recent Aviation Africa 2017 forum, held in Kigali, aviation experts said that airlines in Africa reported a loss of about $800 million in 2016 – with similar projections this year – largely due to regulation of African airspace. Dr Elijah Chingosho, the secretary general of African Airlines Association, said this is a major stumbling block limiting growth and leading to closure of some airlines. Only about 17 African countries liberalized their

Source:  New Times  

EAC lawmakers push for airspace liberalization to lower flight costs.

East African Community (EAC) should expedite the liberalization of its airspace and domestication of flights and declare it as one common airspace for all airlines registered and licensed by the bloc’s partner states, the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) has recommended.

This is one of the recommendations the regional parliament made during its plenary sitting in Nairobi on March 12, as it adopted a motion for a resolution of the Assembly recommending to the council of ministers and partner states to expedite the liberalization and domestication of the EAC airspace.

The motion was moved by MPs Paul Musamali Mwasa, from Uganda, and Kennedy Musyoka Kalonzo, from Kenya, and it was seconded by Gerald Blacks Siranda, from Uganda.

Lawmakers held that the liberalization and domestication of the East African airspace will create new airline routes and greater connectivity of the Community leading to shorter travel times, greater convenience and savings for East Africans and will stimulate trade and boost tourism.

Justifying the motion, MP Kennedy Musyoka Kalonzo said that air travel within our region is unnecessarily expensive, and it is this expense that the motion hopes to solve.

“Just as I was sitting here, I quickly checked out how much our flight from here [Nairobi] to Dubai was, and I discovered it is 37,000 Kenyan shillings [approx. $266], while a flight to visit our neighbors’, who are our members in this House – to DRC – is 100,000 Kenyan shillings [approx. $720],” he said.

“Really, if we are talking of integration, we really need to look at this issue of our airspace,” he said, observing that one of the issues that the motion seeks to address is the non-tariff barrier of travel within the region.

MP Mathias Harebamungu, from Rwanda, said it was observed that EAC partner states were sticking to what they call BASA – bilateral air service agreement – which was hindering the growth of the industry, and was [negatively] impacting on their citizens.

“Partner states still require what they normally call overflight clearance. This is very critical, and this is hindering that industry,” he said.

“You fly from Nairobi to Kigali, from Nairobi to Juba, from Nairobi to Kampala, [and] you have to apply for an overflight. And this is within EAC where we talk of free movement of people, free movement of goods. And this affects again the fares on the tickets” he said, pointing out that fees charged on different tickets are higher than the real cost of the tickets.

MP George Stephen Odongo, from Uganda, said that “there is too much rhetoric around how we want to facilitate the growth and the deepening of our integration, and air transport is one of them.”

“Unfortunately, we are operating in silos when it comes to determining our fares. And when you look at it critically, you realize that the overflight fares, the charges for each jurisdiction, are causing a lot in terms of the cost of transport,” he said.

Giving an example of flying from France to Holland which takes you an average of about one hour and 20 minutes and you pay $100 as airfare, and the travel from Entebbe to Nairobi, which is about 55 minutes, and you have to pay about $450 return ticket, he questioned the bid to make East African Community a competitive investment destination.

“By domesticating these air flights, which is the player of this motion, we are saying that each flight that we take from this destination within the East African Community are considered domestic flights. And in doing so, we will make sure that East Africans are going to travel freely and begin to enjoy and appreciate our integration,” he observed.

SourceNew Times  

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Kenya’s Jambojet starts direct flights to Zanzibar.

The Government of Zanzibar through its Indian Ocean Island Minister of Infrastructure, Communication, and Transport, Khalid Salum Mohamed, has also announced Kenya-based budget carrier Jambojet will start direct flights to Zanzibar and Mombasa.

“Considering Zanzibar’s 2050 Vision of enhancing the blue economy and increasing the number of visitors to our island, the expansion of infrastructure is essential to help achieve our goal and is a current national priority,” Khalid Mohamed told press.

The maiden flights will start on July 1, 2024, with the Jambojet carrier flying four times a week between the two destinations tourist hubs. Initial fares are set at a starting at roughly $113 for a one-way ticket.

It is expected that the budget airline will increase the number of tourists and business travelers entering Zanzibar significantly.

As it gears up to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Jambojet Managing Director and CEO Karanja Ndegwa said the decision to establish this new route is driven by the increase in demand as well as the ambition to unlock commercial opportunities in the region.

“Since inception, Jambojet has been focusing on connecting people in the underserved or unserved routes,” commented an official from the company.

In a similar move, Zanzibar is now in talks with the Saudi Arabian government with a plan of introducing direct flights to Zanzibar from Riyadh city.

“Direct flights from Saudi Arabia to Zanzibar will be a big opportunity to boost trade and strengthen relations. It will also help ease transport for pilgrims to and from Mecca,” commented Zanzibar State Minister, Office of the President, Constitution, Legal Affairs, Public Service and Good Governance, Mr Haroun Ali Suleiman.

With the increase in direct flights to and from the spice islands, Zanzibar is enhancing its global appeal as a top tourist destination of choice for holidaymakers.

Direct flights are aslo an impetus for economic development through increased trade and also serve to boost regional and international relations.

Source: The Exchange

Women Are a Driving Force for Travel & Tourism, says WTTC.

London, UK: To celebrate International Women’s Day, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) underscores the pivotal role of women in the global Travel & Tourism sector.

According to WTTC data, women in tourism comprise a significant portion of the sector’s workforce, accounting for nearly 40% of the total employment.

This marks a substantial increase from 2010 to 2019, highlighting a 24% surge in direct female employment within the sector, increasing from 38.6 million to 47.8 million.

Key findings reveal that hospitality stands out as the leading employer of women within the Travel & Tourism sector, with over half (52%) of all female employment in 2019 attributed to this segment.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, emphasises the positive impact of women in the sector, stating: “Women in Travel & Tourism play a vital role. We are proud that our sector is one of the largest employers of women in the world.

“As our sector continues to grow, women have a key role to play; we have the opportunity to make Travel & Tourism more resilient and inclusive. Putting women at the heart of Travel & Tourism will be critical to securing a sustainable future for the sector.”

The global body’s data also reveals women in Travel & Tourism surpass the average workforce participation in other sectors globally. In regions such the Americas, women make up a larger share of employment in the sector compared to the economy-wide workforce.

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, this data underscores the significant contribution of women to the Travel & Tourism sector, portraying it as a catalyst for gender inclusivity and empowerment on a global scale.

WTTC remains committed to provide high-wage jobs, gender equality, and fostering entrepreneurship through SMEs, as well as generating more high-level opportunities for women within large corporations.

Source: WTTC

Kindiki Approves Passport Fee Hike: Cheapest Now Ksh7,500

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has announced a significant rise in fees for obtaining passports and other essential documents, just a few months after the High Court suspended the implementation of new charges in November last year.

As of March 1, individuals applying for an ordinary 34-page passport will now face a fee of Ksh7,500, a significant rise from the previous Ksh4,500. Meanwhile, the cost of a 50-page passport has increased to Ksh9,500 from the prior Ksh6,000.

A memorandum from the Ministry of Interior, dated February 29 and addressed to regional coordinators, outlined the updated charges. Notably, the fee for a 66-page passport has surged from Ksh7,500 to Ksh12,500.

Simultaneously, Kenya has revised visa fees, with the cost of a single-entry visa doubling to $100 from the previous $50. The fee for a multiple-entry visa has increased to $500 from $100, while transit visas now cost $50, up from $20.

Furthermore, parents applying for permanent residence for their children born outside Kenya will now be required to pay Ksh750,000, up from the previous Ksh500,000.

Similarly, spouses of Kenyan citizens seeking permanent residence will see an increase to Ksh150,000 from the prior Ksh50,000.

This move comes after Prof Kindiki, in November, revoked the gazette notice for the upward revision of charges, fees, and levies related to services provided by the State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services.

The revocation aimed to allow more public participation, responding to legal challenges against the initial increment.

Prof Kindiki had directed the State Department for Immigration to conduct public participation on the matter by December 10, 2023 before the new changes are effected.

Source: Business Day Africa.

Businesses Reconsider Travel Amid Cost-Cutting and Environmental Concerns

Business travel has changed for thousands of workers, thanks to COVID, cost-cutting and environmental worries.

That’s according to a Sunday (Feb. 25) Financial Times (FT) report, which says some big companies in the U.S. and Europe have stopped allowing nonessential trips, while many business travelers are taking longer trips to reduce the need for repeat visits.

“You have to have a real story behind the trip to have it approved now,” one London-based banker told the FT. Another said that senior staff are traveling nearly as regularly as before the pandemic, while junior employees have seen trips cut back.

Elsewhere, companies are changing the way they travel, often with an environmentally conscious goal in mind, the report said.

For example, the American pharmaceutical company Parexel has a travel policy that encourages staff to go by train instead of by air when possible. In Germany, where the firm has more than 750 employees, 96% of domestic trips are now taken by train.

Still, the report notes that business travel isn’t dead, with global bookings coming to 70% of 2019 levels in October 2023, compared to 63% in April, according to survey data by the Global Business Travel Association.

Lawyers and bankers still hit the road to close deals, sales reps still value face-to-face meetings, and many industries cannot function without moving large numbers of workers.

Last month, United Airlines said that it was looking to the return of business travel to provide an industry-wide tailwind.

“Domestic demand remains strong with increases in business traffic volumes year over year,” said United Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella, adding that the airline is “particularly bullish about what Asia looks like going forward.”

“We’ve all sat on calls and predicted the recovery of business traffic more times than I can count over the last few years,” he said. “And I will say Q4 was OK. It wasn’t spectacular in any way. But as we started January in the new budget season, for all of our big corporate clients, we did notice a significant step up.”

Delta CEO Ed Bastian noted a similar corporate travel recovery during that airline’s earnings call in January.

“We are seeing continued improvement in the corporate sector,” Bastian said. “We had a number of laggards, tech being the largest, and we’re finally starting to see tech companies traveling again as a result of return to office, the consultancies as well. We are seeing it across the board. The auto and entertainment sectors have rebounded nicely following the strikes in the fourth quarter.”

Source: PYMNTS

Hostile Territory: The Effects of Somalia and Somaliland’s Airspace Dispute

Since the start of the year, tensions between Somalia and Somaliland (an independent but internationally unrecognized state) have been high. While the two territories have been going at it for years, tensions have increased since the signing of an MoU between Ethiopia and Somaliland on January 1.

The MoU would see landlocked Ethiopia gain access to the Red Sea through the Port of Berbera in exchange for recognizing Somaliland as an independent country and granting it a stake in Ethiopian Airlines. Seeing this as an attack on its sovereignty, Somalia immediately rejected the arrangement, causing further tensions between the Horn of Africa countries. This was followed by an airspace dispute, which has resulted in several incidents and raised concerns about airline safety in the region.

Who controls the airspace over Somalia?

The unstable political situation in Somalia seriously impacted the country’s aviation sector for many years. The previous national carrier, Somali Airlines, also suffered due to a civil war in the early 90s. However, following improvements in certain areas, the airspace over Somalia was reclassified to “Class A” last year. This saw the return of air traffic control services in the country after three decades. Also highlighting how far the air transport sector has come, Somalia recently opened its first Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) center in over 30 years.

The airspace over Somalia and the surrounding ocean is managed by the Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) from the Mogadishu Area Control Center. “This airspace, known as the Mogadishu Flight Information Region (FIR) and its controlling authority are defined under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Navigation Plan for the Africa and Indian Ocean (AFI) Region, which recognizes Somalia as the controlling State, by extension the Somali Civil Aviation Authority,” explained a spokesperson from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to Simple Flying.

On the other hand, Somaliland has control over its airports but not the upper airspace. Egal International Airport (HGA) is the state’s main airport, serving the capital of Hargeisa. Following the signing of the Ethiopia-Somaliland MoU, Somali authorities began restricting flight activity in Somaliland to assert its authority over its airspace.

Consequences of the ongoing dispute

On January 17, the SCAA blocked an Ethiopian Airlines Dash 8 carrying Ethiopian delegates from entering the airspace, saying it had no permission to enter the country. The SCAA also reportedly blocked an air ambulance that was carrying a Somaliland citizen who “needed urgent help.” However, the Somali authorities denied the last claim.

In return, Somaliland claimed independence over its territory and surrounding areas, issuing an international aviation advisory and a statement on its X (formerly Twitter) page. It is attempting to control air traffic in the region from Hargeisa. With both states claiming the right to control traffic, there have been multiple reports of airlines receiving conflicting instructions while overflying the area.

Crews receiving instructions to climb and descend

Over the past month, airlines flying over Somalia have reported receiving conflicting instructions from different air traffic controllers. Last week, an Ethiopian Airlines (ET) Airbus A350 and a Qatar Airways (QR) Boeing 787 narrowly avoided a collision as TCAS intervened. The Qatar Airways crew had been wrongly instructed by ATC in Mogadishu to climb from 38,000 ft to 40,000 ft while the ET aircraft was flying at 38,000 ft, about 180 NM from Hargeisa. Some experts suggest this might have been a mistake on the ATC’s part.

OPSGROUP notes that it received at least ten reports of aircraft flying over Somalia “being contacted by a ‘fake controller’ on the same frequency, issuing conflicting instructions.”The Horn Observer also reported that on February 14, a Qatar Airways A320 crew received conflicting instructions from air traffic controllers on a flight from Doha to Mogadishu via Djibouti.

An El Al 787 crew flying from Phuket to Tel Aviv on February 18 reported receiving communication disturbances while overflying Somalia. It is believed that a hostile group attempted to hijack the flight radio. El Al explained that “the disturbances are not aimed at El Al planes and that this is not a security incident.” It is not entirely clear if this was also a result of the disputing controllers in Mogadishu and Hargeisa.

Somali authorities issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) warning of unlawful VHF interference in the area over Somaliland (150NM radius of Hargeisa). It indicated that flights in the area should not expect altitude adjustments unless directed by authorities in Mogadishu. This was followed by a statement on February 19, accusing Somaliland of disrupting “the lines used by airplanes over parts of the airspace of the northern regions of Somalia.” It added that “if these offensive measures continue,” the Somali government would have to “take strong measures to ensure the security and safety of the Somali Civil Aviation.”

The mysterious death of an air traffic controller

One of the most significant developments in this dispute was the death of Abdinasir Muse Abdirahman, a Somaliland-born air traffic controller working with the Somali Civil Aviation Authority. He was found dead in his apartment in Mogadishu on February 18, and his body showed signs of strangulation and severe torture. Six suspects were immediately detained by Somali police officers.

While there are ongoing investigations in both states, the Somaliland Civil Aviation and Airports Authority (SCAAA), in a statement from February 20, accused Somalia and its Civil Aviation Authority of a “conspiracy to kill AHN Abdinasir Muse Dahale, and the illegal detention of his friends to cover up the involvement of the government agencies.”

The fate of operations over Somali airspace

The area over East Africa is one of the busiest on the continent. The region is also home to some of Africa’s most prominent airlines, including Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways. Some of the busiest airways, connecting the African subcontinent south of Ethiopia with destinations in the Middle East and Indian subcontinent, pass through Somali airspace. The same applies to air links between Western Europe and the Indian subcontinent and Indian Ocean islands.

As the IATA spokesperson said, no airline would fly in “unsafe airspace.” The risks of flying over Somalia have been assessed by the Air Navigation Service Provider and the operators, who have implemented mitigation measures. Yesterday, Ethiopian Airlines announced that it would change some of its routes to avoid Somali airspace. The carrier will now fly over Djibouti, affecting some flights to Asia and the Middle East. However, it has maintained its schedules to Mogadishu and Hargeisa.

For airlines still flying over the country, crews have been advised to be wary of the environment and follow instructions in the NOTAM issued by Mogadishu authorities advising them to contact the Mogadishu Area Control Center through additional methods like controller pilot data link communications (CPDLC) or satellite communication (SATCOM), particularly in the area within a 150 NM radius of Hargeisa.

Source: Simple Flying.

Sky Without Borders: How Africa’s Single Air Market Could Revolutionize Continental Travel

Explore how the SAATM initiative is breaking barriers in African aviation, fostering economic growth, and reshaping the continent’s air travel landscape.

Imagine boarding a flight in Lagos, making a brief stop in Nairobi to pick up more passengers, and then heading straight to Cairo – all on a single ticket. This vision, once a distant dream, is inching closer to reality with the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) initiative.

Spearheaded by aviation authorities across the continent, including insights from Mr Ronnie Balongo of the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA), the SAATM is set to redefine what interconnectivity means for African nations.

Breaking the Chains of Point-to-Point Travel

For decades, air travel within Africa has been constrained by a rigid point-to-point model. Direct flights between African countries are few and often expensive, deterring both business and leisure travel.

The SAATM seeks to dismantle these barriers by allowing airlines the fifth freedom of traffic rights. This essentially permits them to operate flights that pick up and drop off passengers in third-party countries not their own. It’s a game-changer that promises to transform the continent’s aviation landscape radically.

Fostering Greater Connectivity and Economic Growth

The benefits of the SAATM extend beyond mere convenience for travelers. By enhancing interconnectivity, the initiative is poised to stimulate economic growth, foster business expansion, and promote tourism across the continent.

Airlines will have the opportunity to explore new routes, thereby increasing their operational scope and potentially reducing costs for passengers. It’s a win-win situation that could see Africa’s aviation industry soar to new heights, making air travel more accessible and affordable for millions of people.

Challenges and Potential Setbacks

Despite the optimistic outlook, the journey towards a fully integrated African airspace is not without its hurdles. Regulatory challenges, infrastructure limitations, and concerns over market competition and security are just a few of the issues that need to be addressed.

Moreover, the success of the SAATM hinges on the willingness of individual countries to open their skies, a move that requires both trust and cooperation among nations with diverse interests and capabilities.

As the SAATM initiative moves forward, its implementation will undoubtedly be closely watched by industry stakeholders and travelers alike. The dream of a ‘sky without borders’ within Africa is on the horizon, promising to usher in a new era of air travel that could reshape the continent’s economic and social landscape.

Source:  BNN