A single African air transport market is set to be launched in January.
David Kajange, Head of the Transport and Tourism Division at the African Union (AU), says more than 20 countries, namely South Africa, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo and Zimbabwe, have all subscribed to a single African air transport market. He expects more than 40 will have signed on by January.
The single African air transport market forms part of an Open Skies for Africa vision, first realised in the 1980s. It culminated in the adoption of the Yamassoukro Decision of African heads of state in November 1999.
Kajange says Africa became the most expensive air transport market in the world because of individual nations' policies and regulations that hinder air connectivity.
A single air transport market is one of the goals of AU's Agenda 2063. The agenda hopes to connect the whole of Africa through aviation to achieve integration and boost intra-Africa trade.
Linden Birns, MD of Plane Talking, says the announcement is an encouraging sign.
“Now we need national legislators to ensure an enabling regulatory framework is put in place to enable this,” says Birns.
