Najomo: How protectionism hinders air connectivity, trade growth, high fares in Africa

Najomo: How protectionism hinders air connectivity, trade growth, high fares in Africa

The Director-General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo said African states face a number of challenges in balancing national carrier protectionism with the need for liberalization and regional connectivity. Protectionism, he lamented often leads to fewer carriers, poor service quality, and higher ticket prices for consumers, stressing that there is often a disconnect between aviation, tourism, and trade policies that undermines liberalisation goals. These challenges, he noted stem from political, economic, regulatory, and…

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Protectionism: Barrier to Africa’s air transport liberalisation

Protectionism: Barrier to Africa’s air transport liberalisation

Despite very strong protectionism, we are all witnesses to the short life span of most of the African national carriers with an average life cycle of about 15 years maximum. WOLE SHADAREwrites that protectionism as much as it can be defended may have backfired on the continent’s air transport growth Key factor One key component of unlocking air transport connectivity in Africa is through the Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM) otherwise known as Africa’s ‘Open…

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