The 55th Annual General Assembly of the African Airlines Association –AFRAA has come to an end in Munyonyo with a loud call to African states to liberalize the African skies for development of the air transport on the continent.
The three-day summit that brought together over 500 delegates from 35 countries including 40 airline CEOs, ended with strong commitments by sector players to push for more liberalization of the aviation sector on the continent as a way to reduce the cost of doing business and make air transport more affordable for the Africans.
Addressing the press after the assembly, the secretary general of the African Airlines Association Abderahmane Berthe underscored the need for African states to promote trade among themselves, saying that it’s another factor that is limiting the growth of the aviation industry.
Abderahmane noted that most African states developed a cold foot on ratification of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) protocol which was agreed upon in 2018 to open up African Skies in fear of killing their national airlines. But he urged governments to work with their airlines to domesticate SAATM which is seen as the panacea to airlines’ problems.
AFRAA has centered much on discussing initiatives to reduce the cost of doing business. Aviators are concerned that Africa is the most expensive continent for airline business due to the high cost of fuel and heavy taxes which almost double taxes in Asia and Europe.
The Summit discussed challenges, and barriers, exploring actionable steps for the aviation industry and increasing the number of women in aviation. Egyptair will host the 56th AGM next year.
