Will African Union be able to create single airspace in Africa in 2019?

There is a possibility to see the African aviation sector as the next leading market but it seems the dream of African Union will take some more time than expected. The aim of having a Single African Air Transport Market as majority of the African nations are unenthusiastic to endorse Yamoussoukro Decision.

This was observed during the recently concluded capacity building workshop on the regulations needed for the smooth implementation of Yamoussoukro Decision, held in Rwanda's capital city, Kigali, as reported by The New Times.

The Yamoussoukro Decision was a treaty that allowed for open skies among most African countries. in 1999, the decision was endorsed by 44 members of the African Union and became binding in 2002. The Single African Air Transport Market was unveiled with the intent of fully implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision in 2018.

One of the projects of the African Union, the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) is to create a single market for air transport in Africa. Among the 28 countries that have given the signatories, Rwanda is one of those.

Officials revealed that lack of political will, lobbying tendencies of some airlines and protectionist policies of some governments designed to protect their respective national carriers from perceived outside competition were the major challenges. According to the experts, air transport will continue to be considered as a medium to connect people and won't flourish in other sectors unless there is the total creation of a single market for air transport in the African continent.

African nations have a lot to benefit from single airspace, said Aaron Munetsi, Director, Governance, Legal and Industry Affairs, African Airlines Association. "When you look at the IATA report on the benefits of air transport carried out in 12 African countries in 2014, it showed that if these countries could open up their skies among themselves, it would create 150,000 jobs and more than US$1.3 billion in revenues," he said.

A consumer protection representative from Kenya, Stephen Mutoro opined there is a huge requirement for all stakeholders to be involved, mainly people who frequently use air transport. "We know that politicians listen to masses, so we have to bring these masses on board and get involved so that they can pressurise politicians. That way we will reach where we intend to go," he added.

Some African airlines may be striving but many countries are supported by external assistance like from China. The right implementation of Yamoussoukro Decision could assist in solving other several issues. Africa currently is one of the toughest regional aviation markets in the world. It is typified by numerous airline failures, low load factors, high costs and a poor safety record.

Only 16 African countries out of 28 (that provided signatories), have been taken measures to harmonise their bilateral air services agreements to make them compliant with the provisions of Yamoussoukro Decision.

Also Read: Kenya-Botswana in UNSC seat deal, countries sign new agreements to boost cooperation