Africa comprises 54 nations and some 1.5 billion people. That equates to approximately 28% of the world’s countries and close to 20% of the world’s population. Yet African aviation represents just 2.1% of total air traffic.
Infrastructure constraints, high costs, lack of connectivity, regulatory impediments, slow adoption of global standards and skills shortages affect the customer experience and are all contributory factors to African airlines’ viability and sustainability. The continent’s carriers suffered cumulative losses of $3.5 billion for 2020–2022. Moreover, IATA estimates further losses of $213 million in 2023.
“The limiting factors on Africa’s aviation sector are fixable,” says Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. “The potential for growth is clear. And the economic boost that a more successful African aviation sector will deliver has been witnessed in many economies already. With Focus Africa, stakeholders are uniting to deliver on six critical areas that will make a positive difference. We’ll measure success and will need to hold each other accountable for the results.”
Six focus areas
The six focus areas are:
- Safety: Improve operational safety through a data driven, collaborative program to reduce safety incidents and accidents, in the air and on the ground.
- Infrastructure: Facilitate the growth of efficient, secure, and cost-effective aviation infrastructure to improve customer experience and operational efficiency.
- Connectivity: Promote the liberalization of intra-African market access through the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
- Finance and Distribution: Accelerate the implementation of secure, effective and cost-efficient financial services and adoption of modern retailing standards.
- Sustainability: Assist Africa’s air transport industry to achieve the “Net Zero by 2050” emissions targets agreed to by industry and the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) member states.
- Future Skills: Promote aviation-related career paths and ensure a steady supply of diverse and suitably skilled talent to meet the industry’s future needs.
Partnerships will differentiate the outcome of Focus Africa from previous efforts to stimulate Africa’s development with air transport. By partnering, stakeholders will effectively pool their resources, research, expertise, time, and funding to support the common goals of the six work areas.
The partners will be announced and join forces in Addis Ababa on 20–21 June 2023 to officially launch the Focus Africa initiative with more details for each task area.
Safety and sustainability
In terms of safety, the priority for Africa continues to be implementation of ICAO safety-related standards and recommended practices (SARPS).
At year-end 2022, some 28 African countries (61%) had an Effective Implementation (EI) rate of ICAO SARPS of 60% or greater, unchanged from 2021. Increased attention is being placed to address the critical elements of the ICAO SARPS.
“Building a data rich environment across Africa is also essential to delivering regional improvements such as IATA’s Global Aviation Data Management program,” says Walsh.
Safety will also be improved by work in air traffic management. Earlier in the year, Somalian airspace was reclassified to Class A after a 30-year disruption. Some of the region’s busiest air corridors traverse Somalian airspace, which is officially known as the Mogadishu Flight Information Region (FIR). It covers the landmass surrounding the Horn of Africa and extends into the Indian Ocean.
“The reclassification of the Mogadishu FIR as ‘Class A’ airspace will significantly improve safety in the region and enhance efficiency,” says Kamil Al-Awadhi, IATA’s Regional Vice President, Africa and Middle East.
Sustainability, meanwhile, means more than cutting carbon emissions. Focus Africa will support the realization of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) for Africa of lifting 50 million people out of poverty by 2030. In particular, trade and tourism rely on aviation and have immense potential to create jobs, alleviate poverty, and generate prosperity across the continent.
Pre-COVID, aviation supported 7.7 million jobs and $63 billion in economic activity in Africa. Projections are for demand to triple over the next two decades.
Greatest potential
Africa continues the path to recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. Air cargo is 31.4% over 2019 levels and air travel is 93% of 2019 levels. Full recovery for air travel is expected in 2024.
“The tasks for Focus Africa are not new,” says Al-Awadhi. “Work is already underway as part of the work of IATA and other stakeholders in Africa. But after the financial trauma that the pandemic brought to African aviation, we are at a unique time of rebuilding. By launching Focus Africa now, we can ensure that the recovery from COVID-19 moves aviation to an even better place than 2019.”
“Africa stands out as the region with the greatest potential and opportunity for aviation,” adds Yvonne Makolo, CEO of RwandAir and first female Chair of the IATA Board of Governors (2023-2024). “The Focus Africa initiative renews IATA’s commitment to supporting aviation on the continent. As the incoming Chair of the IATA Board of Governors, and the first from Africa since 1993, I look forward to ensuring that this initiative gets off to a great start and delivers benefits that are measurable.”
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