The United Kingdom on Wednesday, January 25, announced developments in visa application for Kenyans wishing to travel to the Great Britain. 

The United Kingdom explained that the waiting period for visa applicants was reduced from months to three weeks. 

“Six months ago, I promised we would get our visa service for Kenyans travelling to the UK back on track.

“I’m pleased we’re now at normal customer service standards – a decision should take just three weeks, with faster priority services available,” explained British High Commissioner to Kenya, Jane Marriott. 

On July 2, 2022, Marriott apologised to Kenyans for the UK visa processing delay. 

In a video, Marriott explained that there was a backlog of visas since the pandemic time and that the situation contributed to the delays.

However, Kenyans willing to travel to the United Kingdom can now breathe a sigh of relief after Britain made a raft of changes to their Visa application process. 

You should get a decision within 3 weeks once you attend your appointment at the visa application centre, if you are applying for a visa to travel through the UK on your way to another country.

Ambassador Marriott noted that the process will be faster and more efficient for both student and child visa applicants. 

“You may be able to get your visa faster or access other services depending on what country you’re in – check with your visa application centre.

The qualification for a student visa is that one must be 16 years of age or older, and must have been offered a place on a course by a licensed student sponsor. 

The student visa applicant must have enough money to support themselves and pay for their course – the amount will vary depending on their circumstances. 

Additionally, student visa applicants should be able to speak, read, write and understand English.

“It costs £363 (Ksh56,000) to apply for a student visa from outside the UK and £490 (Ksh75,000) to extend or switch to a Student visa from inside the UK,” Britain explained. 

Nairobi and London enjoy strong bilateral ties since Kenya’s independence in 1963.

The UK and Kenya are members of the Commonwealth of Nations and engage with each other regularly on matters of military, economic and cultural importance.

Kenyan visa ranking considerably changed on the global stage, but a number of countries have authorised citizens to enter their countries without the visa requirement. 

Currently, Kenyans are allowed to visit South Africa without the visa requirements after Presidents William Ruto and Cyril Ramaphosa struck a deal.

Source: Kenyans

The saga involving exclusive rights for access to a new terminal granted by the Zanzibar Airports Authority (ZAA) to Dubai National Air Travel Agency (Dnata) took a new twist Tuesday after another company filed a case at the High Court of Tanzania.

Transworld Aviation Limited submitted a petition at the High Court of Tanzania challenging the granting of exclusive rights to Dnata.

However, a legal wrangle ensued as soon as the case came up Tuesday, compelling Judge Sekela Moshi to prematurely recuse herself from handling the matter.

On September 14, 2022, ZAA issued a directive which gave the Dubai-based company exclusive access to the new terminal which was constructed at a cost of $120 million.

Order to vacate terminal

The order by ZAA gave ground handling firms that used to operate at Zanzibar’s Abeid Amani Karume International Airport until December 1, 2022 to vacate the newly constructed Terminal III, and instructed airlines to plan to work with Dnata.

Speaking shortly after filing the lawsuit, Transworld Aviation’s legal and investment director Peter Madeleka said that the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) and the Attorney-General are the first and second respondents respectively.

“The Transworld Aviation, the applicant in this matter, has brought an application at the High Court of Tanzania’s main registry for the purpose of seeking court orders of mandamus, sociale and prohibition,” he explained.

According to Madeleka, they were taken by surprise as the respondents came with an objection saying the matter was a waste of the court’s precious time.

“We were of the view that it was improper for any issue which is to be determined by the court to be brought at this very early stage of mentioning,” Mdekela urged.

No confidence in judge

Through lawyer Mdekela, Transworld Aviation expressed lack of confidence with Judge Moshi who was presiding over the application.

“We asked the presiding judge to recuse herself because the applicant had no confidence in her, and we thank God that the judge has disqualified herself from determination of that particular application,” he noted.

With the exclusive rights granted to Dnata on September 14, 2022, it is reported that airlines that ply the Zanzibar route have already started withdrawing from the existing ground handlers as directed by ZAA.

Details that The Citizen has seen indicated that Transworld was the first victim of the directive after two airlines it was serving gave notices of stopping using its services.

In November 2021, Dnata signed a contract with authorities in Zanzibar to provide ground handling services at newly built Terminal 3 at the airport.

As part of the contract, two other Emirates’ subsidiaries, Emirates Leisure Retail and MMI, will operate all 13 retailers and two lounges in the terminal. These include restaurants, duty free and commercial outlets.

Source: The East African

Social media has been around for over a decade now, but its influence over our decision making and buying preferences continues to grow. As travel is an inherently social activity, this influence is particularly present for our industry.

Consumers are constantly inspired by stunning landscapes, compelling food, and adventurous experiences online, presenting an opportunity for brands to connect and amplify their messages to reach a larger audience. As new social platforms emerge, the importance of engaging with travelers in the areas they are looking for inspiration only grows.

Social media as a source of inspiration

While family, friends, and travel providers are the most popular sources of travel inspiration, our 2023 Traveler Value Index showed that social media is right behind them, with 35% of consumers saying they use social for travel inspiration. The use of social media as travel inspiration surpassed more traditional outlets, such as travel agents (29%), media publications such as newspapers or magazines (26%), and entertainment, like TV shows and movies (25%).

But the influence of social media is much more present when you look at younger generations. For consumers under the age of 40, 50% of them say they use social media as a source for inspiration, a very close second to family (52%). For Gen Z, social media is the number one most popular source of inspiration, with 53% saying they turn to social for inspiration, meaning a strong social presence is essential for connecting with younger travelers.

Taking a regional look, consumers from South Africa and Mexico are particularly influenced by social. In South Africa, 59% of consumers look to social for inspiration and 54% in Mexico.

Crafting successful social media campaigns

To connect with travelers finding inspiration on their social feeds, creating fresh, innovative, and authentic social media campaigns is key. This helps your brand not only get in front of travelers but stand out in a way that will be memorable. We’ve worked with many brands to develop social media campaigns and strategies that resonate and use social channels to amplify other creative elements of campaigns.

Destination Canada explores TikTok

Destination Canada, the NTO (National Tourism Organization) for Canada, worked with our team to leverage Expedia Group’s social media channels, including TikTok, in a summer social media campaign targeting travelers from key U.S. states.

The 15-second TikTok video featured the Top 5 Things Not to Miss in Canada, including the country’s most exciting sights and experiences such as its stunning lakes, lush rainforests, and iconic Toronto cityscape. The social video drove impressive results, reaching over 2 million users from key U.S. markets and generating over 3.5 million impressions, further proving bite-sized social content can create big impact for marketing campaigns.

Abu Dhabi creates an immersive experience, promoted through social

Our campaign with the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism took a more immersive approach by following the adventures of social media influencer, Ellie, as she explored Abu Dhabi. Our in-house creative agency developed an original video episode for “The Next Turn” series. In the “City of Surprises” episode, travel shoppers can watch, explore, and book, all on the same page to effectively connect inspiration with a shoppable booking experience.

The video is amplified through social media, utilizing short trailers to hook viewers and entice them to learn more. Ellie is also sharing the content on her social channels, further expanding the message to her trusted audience and encouraging bookings.

Using social media marketing for travel inspiration and influence

By using our social media solutions for travel marketing, you can take advantage of a highly targeted audience of travelers across our brands like Expedia, Vrbo and Hotels.com. Some of the solutions we offer include:

• Social integration packages to transform standard ads into a native social experience across traveler’s social feeds.
• Instagram stories, which motivate travelers who are seeking inspiration and increase engagement with your brand.
• Co-branded videos that capture traveler interest with compelling video content.
• Custom social promotion across multiple platforms to create the most engaging social experience while telling your brand story.

These social media solutions are set up to help your brand stand out in our highly engaged travel community. As the popularity of social media continues to rise and travelers look to new platforms for

Source: Hospitality.net

With airlines continuing to cut pandemic-related losses in 2022, the global airline industry is expected to finally return to profitability in 2023, a recent outlook released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) suggests.  

How much will the airline industry lose in 2022?  

IATA estimates that airline net losses will stand at approximately $6.9 billion at the end of 2022 compared $42.0 billion and $137.7 billion recorded in 2021 and 2020 respectively, IATA noted in the outlook, which was released on December 6, 2022.  

The association also expects an 8.4% increase in passenger traffic compared to last year, leading to a significant increase in passenger revenues, reaching $438 billion compared to $239 billion in 2021.   

Overall revenues are expected to grow by 43.6% compared to 2021, reaching an estimated $727 billion, IATA added.  

According to IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh, despite facing rising operating costs, labor shortages, strikes, and other disruptions across the world’s key hubs during 2022, airlines still managed to cut losses due to an increased demand for air travel.  

Air cargo played a key role for air carriers in cutting losses, with IATA predicting that cargo-related revenues will almost double to a total of $201.4 billion compared to $100.8 billion in 2019.  

“We will end the year at about 70% of 2019 passenger volumes. But with yield improvement in both cargo and passenger businesses, airlines will reach the cusp of profitability,” Walsh said.  

Improvement despite growing economic uncertainties   

In 2023 airlines will witness the first financial recovery and will be able to gain their first profit since 2019, IATA’s analysts said.   

Air carriers are expected to record a net profit of around $4.7 billion in 2023. However, growth will remain a low improvement in comparison to an industry profit of $26.4 billion posted in 2019.  

“This expected improvement comes despite growing economic uncertainties as global GDP growth slows to 1.3% (from 2.9% in 2022),” the report added.   

However, according to Walsh, the expected profits for 2023 are “razor thin”.  

“Despite the economic uncertainties, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about 2023. Lower oil price inflation and continuing pent-up demand should help to keep costs in check as the strong growth trend continues. At the same time, with such thin margins, even an insignificant shift in any one of these variables has the potential to shift the balance into negative territory. Vigilance and flexibility will be key,” Wash explained.  

IATA’s experts say that high passenger demand will become the main driver to achieve the first profitable year after the pandemic downturn. Global passenger numbers are predicted to grow to 85.5% of 2019 levels. This will generate approximately $552 billion in airline industry revenues.   

“Much of this expectation takes into account the uncertainties of China’s Zero COVID policies which are constraining both domestic and international markets. Nonetheless, passenger numbers are expected to surpass the four billion mark for the first time since 2019, with 4.2 billion travelers expected to fly,” IATA said.  

Global air cargo market could face “increased pressure”  

Meanwhile, the global air cargo market could come “under increased pressure”. Estimated revenues are expected to stand at 149.4 billion, which is $52 billion less than in 2022. However, such a performance will still be $48.6 billion stronger than recorded by airlines in 2019.   

“With economic uncertainty, cargo volumes are expected to decrease to 57.7 million tonnes, from a peak of 65.6 million tonnes in 2021. As belly capacity grows in line with the recovery in passenger markets, yields are expected to take a significant step back,” according to the association data.  

“IATA expects a fall of 22.6% in cargo yields, mostly in the latter part of the year when the impact of inflation-cooling measures is expected to bite. To put the yield decline in context, cargo yields grew by 52.5% in 2020, 24.2% in 2021, and 7.2% in 2022. Even the sizable and expected decline leaves cargo yields well-above pre-COVID levels,” IATA concluded.  

Source: Aerotime Hub

Dubai: If you are a tourist in Dubai, getting around the city using public transportation is easy and affordable.

If you want to visit Dubai’s major hotspots, such as Burj Khalifa or Bluewaters Island, you have many transportation options, like taxis, Metro, Tram, and ferries.

Here is how you can reach these five famous attractions in Dubai using public transportation.

FIRST GET A NOL CARD

Before starting your trip, you must buy a nol card. You can buy it from the kiosks at every Metro station in Dubai.
As a tourist, you can either buy a red, silver or gold nol card.

Red nol card: The red nol card is a disposable ticket that can only be used once and on only one mode of transport. It costs Dh2, and you must top it up with the necessary balance for your trip.

Silver nol card: If you are planning to travel to multiple locations and use different modes of transport, the silver nol card is the right choice. It costs Dh25 (with Dh19 that can be spent on services) and is valid for five years.
Gold nol card: If you want an upgrade, the nol gold card allows you to access the Gold Class cabins on Dubai Metro and Dubai Tram. To get the card, you need to pay Dh25 (with Dh19 that can be spent on services). It is also valid for five years and can be used on all transport services and other payments like the nol silver card.

However, a trip will cost you more when using the gold card, compared to a silver card. For example, if you travel within one zone, a trip costs Dh3 if you use a silver card and Dh6 if you use a gold card.

According to RTA, a minimum card balance of Dh7.50 is required for a one-way trip.

Dubai public transport app – S’hail

The S’hail app from RTA, which is available for both Apple and Android devices, allows commuters to plan their journey in Dubai using public transportation in Dubai and gives them an estimated cost of the trip.

The app also provides details on the bus, Metro, Tram or abra (or other marine transport options) you can take within Dubai to reach your destination.

1. Burj Khalifa

Seeing the Burj Khalifa and breathtaking Dubai Mall fountains are almost on every tourist’s itinerary list when they visit Dubai. The most convenient way to reach the Burj Khalifa area is by using the Dubai Metro.

Dubai Metro

The nearest Metro station is the ‘Burj Khalifa/The Dubai Mall station’, on the Red Line. Once you are at the Metro station, follow the exit signs that point towards ‘Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa’.

The Metro station is within a walking distance from The Dubai Mall by using the Metro Link Bridge or footbridge. The bridge is a glass tunnel travellator that links ‘Burj Khalifa/The Dubai Mall Station’ and The Dubai Mall.

Public buses and taxis.

Alternatively, if you do not want to use the bridge, you can use the taxis available at the Metro station or the feeder buses. Feeder buses transport passengers from Metro stations to communities or business districts around Metro areas.

Bus stop and route towards Dubai Mall entrance

The bus stops and taxi stands at the Metro station are located in Dubai Mall Metro Bus Stop Landside, Exit 1. The feeder bus available at the Dubai Mall/Burj Khalifa Metro station is the F13 bus route. The buses arrive and depart from the tourist drop-off area, located in front of the Grand Drive Entrance on the Lower Ground Floor of The Dubai Mall.

The cost of a bus trip from the station to the Dubai Mall entrance is approximately Dh3.

To see the Burj Khalifa, you must go into Dubai Mall, stay on the lower ground level, and follow the signs to Burj Khalifa, which are clearly marked around the mall.

2. Dubai Marina

Dubai Marina is a lively district that comprises of many neighbourhoods, including the Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR). Dubai Marina Walk also has a 7km promenade with shopping and dining options.

Since the Dubai Marina area encompasses many neighbourhoods, the easiest way to discover the area is via the Dubai Metro and Tram.

How to use the Dubai Tram and Metro to Dubai Marina

If you plan on visiting the Dubai Marina area via Metro, you need to get off at the SOBHA Realty Metro station on the Red Line. This Metro station will connect you to the Dubai Marina Tram Station. The tram will then stop at different areas in the Dubai Marina neighbourhood.

3. Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR)

The two most famous attractions at JBR are The Walk and The Beach. If you are looking for a relaxing stroll by the beach, the beachside boulevard has retail shops, cafes and restaurants. The Walk runs parallel to The Beach, a public beach equipped with a 600m running track, and many outdoor activities, including beach volleyball and an outdoor gym.

Dubai Metro and Tram towards JBR

The closest Metro station to JBR is Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) Metro station on the Red Line. The DMCC Metro station is also connected to the Dubai Tram, which is the Jumeirah Lake Towers Tram Station. Once you are in the Tram, go to the Jumeirah Beach Residence 1 station, which is the closest tram station to the JBR beach area.

Renting bikes and e-scooters in Dubai

If you are in the Dubai Marina and JBR area, you can easily rent a bike or e-scooter from the Metro stations in DMCC, Sobha Realty and Dubai Internet City. You will be charged 50 to 60 fils for every minute of your trip using a rented e-scooter.

For a complete guide on how to rent and use e-scooters and bikes in Dubai, read here and here.

4. Bluewaters Island

Bluewaters Island was opened in 2018, and is another popular attraction in Dubai because of its luxury hotels, beach clubs, entertainment venues and the record-breaking Ain Dubai, an observational wheel which is currently closed.

How to take the Dubai Tram to Bluewaters Island

Located across the Dubai Marina, the island is connected to the JBR Beach area via a public footbridge. The closest Dubai Tram station to the pedestrian bridge is Jumeirah Beach Residences 1 and 2. You can walk towards Bluewaters from the Tram station, which will take around six to seven minutes.

How to take the Dubai Ferry to Bluewaters Island

An alternative mode of transport is to take the Dubai Ferry or Dubai Water Taxi from the Dubai Marina Mall Marine Transport Station to the Bluewaters Marine Transport Station. Once you reach the station, you will have to walk towards the Bluewaters Island main area, which will take you around one to two minutes. You can use your nol card to travel on the Dubai Water Taxi or Ferry, which will cost you Dh25.

5. Palm Jumeirah

The Palm Monorail is the easiest way to navigate Palm Jumeirah because it connects key landmarks on the man-made island.

The monorail is a 5.5 km line, and the only public transportation system in Palm Jumeirah for residents, visitors and tourists.

It connects visitors and residents from the Gateway Station at the entry of the Palm Jumeirah, to Golden Mile Galleria, Al Ittihad Park, Nakheel Mall, The Pointe and Atlantis Aquaventure station at the final stop of the journey.

Click here to learn more about the Palm Monorail and all the stations.

How do I use the Palm Monorail?

You can access the Palm Monorail from the Dubai Tram. The beginning of the Palm Monorail is linked to the Dubai Tram station – Palm Jumeirah – by a footbridge. It will take approximately 10 minutes to reach the Palm Monorail station – Palm Gateway, the entry point into the island.

You can use your RTA nol card to travel on the Palm Monorail or you can buy separate tickets at any of the Palm Monorail station customer service desks.

Trip costs:

A single-trip ticket price starts from Dh10 and can go up to Dh20, and a round-trip ticket price starts from Dh15 and can go up to Dh30.

Source: Gulf News

The Henley Passport Index ranks Seychelles as 29th out of 199 countries for the first quarter of 2023 for the ability of the country’s passport holders to visit 153 countries visa free.

The index is prepared by London-based Henley and Partners, a global citizenship and residence advisory firm.

The firm uses data gathered from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which manages inter-airline cooperation globally.

As IATA gathers the information in real-time, the index is also amended in the same manner as Henley and Partners also monitor any changes governments may impose on the passports and visa.

The latest figures show Seychelles is ahead of Mauritius at the 34th place where passport holders can visit 146. South Africa came in at 53rd place with its citizens able to visit 106 visa free destinations and Kenya at 73rd with 73 countries.

While the small island state’s passport is still faring better than many of its other African counterparts, Seychelles has slipped down by one place from its ranking of 2022.

The Seychelles – an archipelago in the Western Indian Ocean – also recently changed its passport to a bio-metric one in November last year, in a bid to ensure its safety.

“It is a passport that will be secure and it will not be easy for someone to duplicate it,” President Wavel Ramkalawan had declared at the time of receiving his own passport- which was also the first issued.

The Henley index claims to be the “original ranking of all the world’s passports covers 227 destinations and 199 passports and compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations.”

To determine the passport’s ranking, if no visa is required, then a score with value of 1 is created for that passport. The same applies if you can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor’s permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination.

According to the index, Japan is the country with the strongest passport for the fifth year running, with their citizens being able to freely visit 193 destinations.

Singapore and South Korea, whose citizens can freely visit 192, are in second place.

Source: Seychelles News Agency

From the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) of 1999 to the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) of 2018, countries in the African continent have gone through years of hard work and negotiations facing several challenges to liberalise the continent’s air transport. It looks like the African sky is going to be much more open.

Africa closed out 2022 with remarkable achievements in driving air transport liberalisation, harmonisation of air services agreements and harmonisation of air transport economic regulation.

This unprecedented turn-of-events has raised strong hopes across the continent and viewed as a prelude to more outstanding achievements in air transport liberalisation and aviation development in 2023.

Africa has in recent years sought to establish a workable and updated framework to actualise unfettered air transport market access within Africa for African airlines, and for the benefit of Africa’s economy.

Liberalisation in Africa had continually stalled since the concept was established by Africa’s top political leaders as a Declaration in 1988, which was firmed up as the Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) in 1999. Africa has painstakingly rejigged the YD liberalisation framework under a new implementation mechanism called the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) which was launched by the African Union (AU) in January 2018 in Addis Ababa. Towards the end of 2022, the SAATM, with the approval of the AU, was fitted out with updated and improved vital instruments including the dispute settlement mechanism and competition rules which were previously lacking in the YD and largely caused stagnation of the YD. With this, Africa is set to implement its liberalisation under the SAATM.

MASAs drive interconnectivity

Africa celebrated the YD Day 2022 in November in Dakar, Senegal, with the launch of the ambitious SAATM Pilot Implementation Project (PIP) involving 18 pilot States. More remarkably, the continent tested its resolve to implement the policy harmonisation for the liberalisation of its air transport market as the pilot States and others engaged in robust discussions and agreements during the global Air Services Negotiation event (ICAN) organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Abuja, Nigeria, in December 2022.

“Over 400 participants representing 63 countries concluded 212 new international air services agreements at ICAO’s 2022 Air Services Negotiation (ICAN) event,” ICAO stated. ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano stated that “the progressive resurgence of the air transport industry is proceeding at a post-pandemic pace,” saying also that the agreements at the event would add to the recovery’s momentum.

Further, “Multilateralism and the work embarked on here continue to be essential to global success,” he added, “and to the restoration of global travel, trade and tourism capacity in all world regions.”

For Africa, the event was a platform to deepen its liberalisation, interconnectivity and integration of various parts of the continent. It was an opportunity to enthrone SAATM-compliant Multilateral Air Services Agreements (MASAs) and effectively eliminate the Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs) that are prohibitive to market access and liberalisation within Africa.

To fast-track the achievement of SAATM and liberalisation in Africa, the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) has implored African States to ensure intra-African air services agreement going forward should be multilateral or plurilateral to drive liberalisation on the continent. Ideally, therefore, SAATM-compliant African states were not expected to sign bilateral air services agreements at the ICAO ICAN 2022. Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Togo, Rwanda, South Africa among several other African States signed agreements at the ICAO ICAN in Abuja, thereby weaving the foreground of air transport liberalisation which is expected to create dozens of city-pairs and points-beyond in Africa from 2023.

Representatives of Zambia at the ICAO ICAN expressed excitement signing with Benin Republic and expect to sign with more African states. This pervasive high-spirits and conviction over the benefits of harmonized air transport market in Africa enveloped the air services negotiation conference in Abuja.

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, assured ICAO and AFCAC of Nigeria’s resolve to support SAATM and Africa’s integration. Hadi Sirika, Minister of Transport of Nigeria, said “we will further strengthen our resolve to implement SAATM in line with AU Agenda 2063.” Anthony Derjacques,

Minister of Transport of Seychelles, enthused that Seychelles has signed many agreements at the ICAO ICAN, including with Nigeria; and looks forward to “seamless air travel” ipso facto. Mohamed Rahma, Director of ICAO’s Air Transport Bureau, saw the ICAO ICAN as a remarkable success, with 100 virtual participants from 60 states. He tasked African states to implement SAATM without hesitation, and assured of ICAO’s support, as he also urged states to digitally register all air services agreements with ICAO.

Olumuyiwa Benerd Aliu, immediate-past President of ICAO Council, enjoined African States to make a difference with the new beginning of SAATM implementation to interconnect African cities and stir up Africa’s economies.

SAATM PIP rides on ICAO ICAN

On the sidelines of the ICAO ICAN 2022, AFCAC delivered a powerful workshop showcasing the thrust and benefits of the SAATM and the SAATM Pilot Implementation Project (PIP) to African and global audience and partners.

Adefunke Adeyemi, AFCAC’s Secretary General, explained that there is a framework to engage and elicit concrete implementation of SAATM, which begins with AFCAC engaging the highest level of government, the ministers and regulators, operators and support stakeholders, including non-core aviation economic sectors such as finance, immigration, national planning, interior, export and import ministries, and others. So far, 19 willing states have joined the SAATM PIP programme, while 36 states have signed for SAATM. The world now looks forward to liberalisation of air transport in Africa.

Based on the experience of the European Union (EU) on liberalisation, Peter Bombay, representative of the EU at ICAO, encouraged Africa to begin implementation of SAATM with few states in the pilot project, while others join in over the coming years. This view was one of the most remarkable outcomes of the SAATM workshop in Abuja.

Africa’s air cargo gets new tailwind

Air cargo is a major thrust and beneficiary of SAATM liberalisation and interconnectivity in Africa, and delegates at the air services event emphasized the essence of cargo and interconnectivity. While cargo was the bulwark for many airlines during the Covid-19 pandemic and airlines converted their passenger aircraft to ‘preighters’, cargo is set again to lift airlines in Africa from the nadir of their existence.

Africa still contributes only 1.9% of global cargo, according to IATA’s report in January 2023. Many expect Africa’s negligible cargo share to significantly increase over the next 3-5 years on the back of liberalisation and improved air interconnectivity in Africa.

Essentially, air cargo which is poorly developed in Africa will permeate Africa along new routes, city-pairs and points-beyond expected which would be created by ongoing liberalisation efforts and multilateral air services agreements within Africa. The ongoing liberalisation efforts are expected to produce 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th Freedom markets in parts of Africa which would drive movement of increased cargo within the continent or at least the SAATM Pilot states. In fact, RwandAir said it is giving special offers for air cargo shippers as the airline recently set up its cargo arm. There is strong expectation that new cargo-only airlines would emerge, attracted by Africa’s current liberalisation and MASAs regime in Africa.

At the moment, Africa’s air cargo is driven by few excellent players like Allied Air based in Lagos, Nigeria, which is the largest cargo-only carrier in West and Central Africa; as well as Astral Aviation based in Nairobi, Kenya, alongside bigger African airlines including Ethiopian Airlines Cargo and Kenya Airways Cargo. Yet most of Africa’s cargo is carried by foreign carriers mainly from the Middle East and Europe.

While Saudi Arabia spoke enthusiastically about the groundswell of improvement in cargo and 7th freedom in the state, the Minister of Transport emphasized the importance of embracing the new cargo market in Africa.

Interconnectivity to cut emissions

As 2023 kicks off, the establishment of new city-pairs and points-beyond in Africa would not only rev up cargo movement, but would also shorten flight duration generally in Africa, thereby cutting down on emissions that ensue from unnecessary long flights normally embarked on just to interconnect adjacent cities in Africa.

Source: Logistics Africa Update

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