While the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) has been regarded by some in the aviation industry as “beyond rescue”, the project may still hold value as an instrument to overcome hurdles that have prevented the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision, which calls for liberalisation of aviation within Africa.
This was the view of Aaron Munetsi, CEO of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) during a panel discussion at the SADC Tourism Alliance Think Tank that took place in Johannesburg on August 6.
Building blocks in place
Munetsi explained that SAATM was not a stand-alone policy, but rather as a “booster” that enabled African countries to implement the Decision. This is achieved through what he described as three key “instruments”.
The first was the dispute settlement mechanism. “Out of 55 countries, there was no way we were all going to interpret the rules the same way – and the dispute settlement mechanism is now in place,” said Munetsi.
The second, he said, was the economic regulation of the implementation of open skies. “This is now also in place, because there was a disparity in the interpretation of what those economic regulations mean.” He gave the example of the pricing of a foreign operator’s permit, which is R500 in South Africa but as much as US$8 000 (R142 000) in East Africa for a 12-month permit.
“The last one, which is also very important to us, is consumer protection,” he added.
“Since October 2023, Africa has resolved 17 disputes using these tools – including with Nigeria, which had previously refused to grant fifth freedom traffic rights. That was reversed within days once the legal framework was invoked,” said Munetsi.
“With these three instruments in place, the Yamoussoukro Decision already addresses the other two: the opening up of skies on a reciprocal basis, as well as the admission and confirmation of fifth freedom rights for passengers.”
Protectionism persists
One of the remaining hurdles, said Munetsi, was airlines’ protectionism driven by national carrier influence. “Airlines are the ones that influence governments not to implement policy because they are scared of competition. It is the airlines – and we’re talking about national carriers – who urge governments not to grant rights because they’re not ready. And our question is – how can your airline, which is almost comatose – ever be ready? That’s what the problem is, protectionism.”
Munetsi reiterated, however, that if African airlines began using the tools of SAATM, and governments followed through with enforcing policy, SAATM could finally take off in a meaningful way. “There is no longer any reason to say it can’t be implemented,” he said.
