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IATA to assist Africa to maximize 55.8 billion aviation gains
- Sector’s taxes, charges, fuel highest in the world
- Continent, expensive place for business
To enable aviation to be an even bigger driver of prosperity across the African continent, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it is working closely with governments to realise $55.8 billion of economic activity and 6.2 million jobs in Nigeria and the continent as a whole.
The group carpeted the continent’s operating environment, saying, “Africa is an expensive place for airlines to do business. There is no shortage of examples illustrating the heavy burden that governments extract from aviation”.
Jet fuel costs according to IATA are 35 per cent higher than the rest of the world, with user charges, as a percentage of airlines’ operating costs, are double the industry average.
Taxes and charges according the clearing house for over 290 global airlines are among the highest in the world.
“On top of that, $670 million of airline funds are blocked. Too many African governments view aviation as a luxury rather than a necessity. We must change that perception,” said Director-General of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac.
de Juniac stated this at the 50th Annual General Assembly (AGA) meeting of the African Airline Association (AFRAA) in Morocco.
The IATA chief also urged governments in Africa to maximize the positive social and economic power of aviation by working together to promote safe, sustainable and efficient air connectivity.
De Juniac however lauded Africa’s air safety record, highlighting it as a positive example of progress through collaboration.
“Africa has had no jet hull losses for two years running and is two years free of any fatalities on any aircraft type, it’s clear that progress is being made. But more needs to be done. We urge governments to recognize the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) in their safety oversight programs. With IOSA carriers performing three times better than airlines not on the IOSA registry, we have a convincing argument. Similarly states must push forward greater adoption of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS),” said de Juniac.
“In Africa we have infrastructure problems in two extremes. In some cases it is overbuilt and expensive. In other cases, it is deficient and cannot meet demand. Dialogue between industry and government is critical to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to meet demand, that airline technical and commercial quality standards are met and that the infrastructure is affordable. Achieving that will create the platform on which aviation’s economic and social benefits can be maximized,” he added.
IATA expressed strong support for the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) initiative, explaining that the low density of the African intra-continental network makes it impossible to realize the potential benefits of a connected African economy.
SAATM—if implemented, it said —gives Africa the potential for economic transformation, adding that history has shown that opening markets leads to rapid advances in connectivity.
To date, 27 African governments have committed to SAATM and IATA encourages the remaining 28 African Union member states to come on board quickly to enjoy the potential benefits of a connected African economy.
Supporting the projected growth of aviation in Africa, it stated that a quadrupling of passengers over the next two decades – will require an expanded labour force.
De Juniac called on governments to develop policies to build their training pipeline to support growth and tap into the power of women to help alleviate a growing skills shortage in the region.
