Many African airlines have been struggling to make profit. Majority of
African governments still believe that protecting their national
interests far outweighs any of the benefits of open skies. PHOTO | CYRIL
DEGEYA | NMG
Year 2017 has been full of excitement and optimism for the African aviation scene on several fronts.
The
continent has had its fair share of entrants and exits in equal
measure, safety records showed low accidents and incident rates, several
airports have managed facelifts, expansion and new aviation
infrastructure projects.
Most aviation forums on the
continent have been drumming up the “Africa Open Skies” message, which
should see more movement of people across borders and boost trade.
Statistics
have been bandied about on the subject of free movement of people and
how much of an impact it will have on aviation, tourism and continental
economies.
Experts say, Africa is the only continent
with the potential of double-digit economic growth and a 5.1 per cent
annual average growth in air traffic over the next 20 years.
At
the 49th edition of the annual conference of African airlines in
Kigali, panel discussions boiled down to the few weighty issues plaguing
African aviation.
Key among these was free movement of
people, government “interference” in airlines, poor aviation
infrastructure, state human capacity, high costs and taxes. And also,
airline executives’ rant about the onslaught from non-African carriers.
I
think the biggest profiteers of these aviation meets are the suppliers
to the industry who sponsor these gatherings to showcase their wares and
not governments, airlines or airports who are grappling with policy and
strategy issues; but that’s a topic for another day.
The
African Union on its part, has us all convinced that come January 2018,
we shall see the launch of the Single African air transport market
(SAATM).
The expectation is that at least 40 of the 54 African states, will lead the way with this initiative.
As
at the time of the 3rd Ministerial Working Group Meeting on the SAATM
meeting earlier this month, only 23 states had committed to this
initiative.
That is three countries more than the 20 who initially agreed to back the initiative when it was announced this year.
These
20 have a combined population of about 600 million people, a total GDP
of about $1.45 trillion, a potential of over 200 million passengers
annually and a coverage of up to 75 per cent of inter-Africa air
transport.
So why would a continent convinced of the
benefits of an open skies policy dither for nearly 20 years with a
decision as noble as the Yamoussoukro Decision?
Why
would the same Heads of State who have even designated November 14 of
every year to celebrate the Yamoussoukro Decision hesitate when it comes
to implementation?
Shortsightedly, majority of African
governments still believe that protecting their national interests far
outweighs any of the benefits of open skies.
In East Africa, only Ethiopia, Kenya and Rwanda have shown serious commitment to the open skies movement.
Ironically,
it is these same protective governments that bemoan non-African
carriers taking up to 80 per cent of African traffic.
Will the AU move forward with the SAATM initiative among the willing members or will Africa wait longer for an open sky?
Michael Otieno is an aviation consultant and travel writer based in Nairobi. Twitter: @mosafariz; Email: michael@sadimsolutions.com
Related stories:
No comments :
Post a Comment