Addressing Africa’s aviation market share

The African aviation market has enormous growth potential but lacks a coordinated policy to tap into the burgeoning market. So many factors have conspired to limit the development of the sector in the continent, writes, WOLE SHADARE

Defining the future

Despite being home to 12% of the world’s population, Africa accounts for only 2% of the global air traffic market. Not a few attribute the discrepancy to several factors, including limited market access, high operational costs and a lack of infrastructure.

Outlining an ambitious and transformative vision for Africa’s aviation, the Secretary-General of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) Adefunke Adeyemi highlights the challenges and opportunities that define the sector’s future.

As the specialised agency of the African Union (AU) for civil aviation, AFCAC’s mandate is to coordinate and implement policies and projects that enhance the aviation sector across all 55 African countries.

It is also responsible for implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

The Yamoussoukro Decision is a framework agreement designed to enhance connectivity by granting market access between African states for airlines, thereby reducing fragmentation and increasing connectivity.

AFCAC’s unrelenting efforts

AFCA as the specialised agency for the African Union is the implementation arm on all civil aviation matters for the African continent.

It covers all of the 55 countries, and its approach is a continental one to address safety, security, environmental protection, air transport, connectivity and sustainable aviation.

AFCAC is also responsible for implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).

The Yamoussoukro Decision is a framework agreement designed to enhance connectivity by granting market access between African states for airlines, thereby reducing fragmentation and increasing connectivity.

“It’s a question of scale and scope,” Adeyemi noted. “The scale of the continent and the challenge is huge, and then the scope of coverage of air transport is very small. We have a population of almost 1.5 billion now.”

“There’s a huge mismatch. But if you look at other markets where you have huge populations, you see that aviation plays a role there. If you look at Africa, we have all of the ingredients to ensure that we can integrate using air transport.”

“This is the thing that is so interesting. All of the 54 countries in Africa have at least one runway, so the opportunity is huge for us to expand these numbers, but the scope has been limited over time primarily because of the market access issues”.

“We’ve got to ensure that aviation is supported not as a charity case, but in terms of the enablers that make it survive. Africa is not a low-cost environment at all. It’s quite a high-cost environment primarily because of a lot of taxes, levies and fees.”

Growing propensity to travel

Despite these challenges, Africans have a growing propensity to travel. There is and there’s a growing middle class and a lot more people want to travel, but even with that, only 15% of the African population fly.

Price is a real factor and most people do not engage because it is too expensive for them, and that shouldn’t be the case because aviation is a necessity for Africa.

Liberalization, improve air links

AFCAC is working on several initiatives to liberalise and improve air links within Africa. One of the key projects is the Pilot Implementation Scheme of SAATM (SAATM PIP), which focuses on a group of 20 countries that are ready to accelerate the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market.

The idea according to Adeyemi is to take those countries that are ready and are willing to proceed with accelerating the implementation of the YD to move forward with them.

“It’s an inclusive initiative because we start in phases, we take the first batch who are ready, and then we proceed with others. Given the fact that it’s taken 35 years for us to implement the YD in full, I think taking this approach is a good way of doing it, she added.”

Safety and security improvements

Safety and security are paramount in aviation, and Africa has made significant strides in these areas over the past decade. The Abuja Safety Targets, established in 2012, have been instrumental in improving safety standards across the continent.

Once upon a time, safety in Africa was quite dire, but over time, safety in Africa has improved. Now, the global safety threshold was recently increased in 2022 by ICAO from 65% to 75%, and Africa is currently at just under 60% on average. Many would to see that general figure improve.

The approach AFCAC is taking is targeting the states that have a real need in terms of improving their safety in specific elements and providing technical assistance and capacity to support those states.

There is an initiative called the African and Indian Ocean Inspector Scheme (AFI-CIS), where they coordinate a group of experts who have experience from different individual African states through a coordinated approach through AFCA to support a state in need.

The group had nine AFI-CIS missions last year and another nine or 10 programmed for this year and it’s working.

Sustainability initiatives

Sustainability is another critical focus area for AFCAC. The commission is working on several initiatives, including the development, production and deployment (DPD) of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in Africa. This initiative aims to involve Africa in the global effort to reduce aviation’s carbon footprint.

They came up with an initiative last year, which they call the DPD for SAF. The message there is that as an African continent wants to be involved, they want to be part of the solution and see it as taking their rightful place. They want to produce SAF as well and not just be a source of feedstock, of which they have an abundance.

The continent’s aviation regulatory body has equally identified six countries that have the potential to produce SAF as it also will identify the countries that have the necessary feedstock that are required for processing.  The whole point is that everybody wins out of this so that Africa itself wins.

Fragmentation

One of the biggest challenges facing African aviation is fragmentation. The continent needs to work on various fronts to overcome this issue and build economies of scale that can support meaningful air transport across the continent.

That opportunity is the SAATM, which should be the main focus. If they can crack this, then a lot of things will follow in the short to medium term. Of course, there are other areas of development for the continent, but if they can crack this, then the issue of integration and connectivity would be changed. That would translate to not just travel but trade, but tourism and so forth.

AFCAC is also responsible for implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). The Yamoussoukro Decision is a framework agreement designed to enhance connectivity by granting market access between African states for airlines, thereby reducing fragmentation and increasing connectivity.

Last line

As AFCAC continues to implement its ambitious plans, the future of African aviation looks promising. By addressing key challenges and leveraging opportunities, the commission aims to create a more connected, sustainable and prosperous aviation sector for Africa. The group is making a direct impact on the socioeconomic development of Africa. Aviation is not just a specialised area; it’s an economic enabler and a social catalyst. It needs to do the same for Africa.

Google+