ALBATROSS ON AFRICAN AVIATION

ALBATROSS ON AFRICAN AVIATION

Chief Executive, Landover Aviation Company, Capt. Edward Boyo.


African aviation is saddled with lots of challenges. Whenever its stakeholders gather to discuss the present and future of the continent’s air transport industry, they have never lacked well-articulated resolutions and recommendation, but the problem has always been with implementation. IME AKPAN writes on this in the light of the recent aviation conference held in Windhoek, Namibia

At different fora, the problems of African aviation are diagnosed to include

1. High customs duty paid on aircraft spare parts 

2. Double-digit interest rates on bank loans

3. Multiple and high airport charges paid by airlines and 

4. The ever-increasing cost of aviation fuel.
   Others are unfavourable operating environment,
- Dearth of airport infrastructure
- Foreign airlines’ domination of the continent’s airspace and
- The attendant capital flight, near-absence of private sector participation in aviation infrastructure development, inconsistent government policies, among others.
The participants, including governments, air transport industry experts, aircraft manufacturers, the African Airlines Association, (AFRAA), African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) re-evaluated the state of air transport development in Africa in the light of the current trends.

Boyo maintained that the aviation industry is one of the drivers of the continent’s economic growth regretted that despite 18 years of high level discussion among governments, African aviation experts and stakeholders, the problems bedeviling the continent’s aviation industry had persisted.

‘Let me state clearly that one of the cardinal thrusts of Aviation and Allied Business Leadership Conference series as a vital change catalyst is to continue to push for the actualization of harmonization of Africa’s air transport policies and regulations, cohesion among Africa’s air transport groupings, and integration of Africa’s air transport and economic regions. While pursuing these relentlessly, he said ‘it is also the primary objective of the conference series to promote sustainable air transport growth in Africa’.

Considering that Africa is the world’s last emerging aviation market, Boyo said no efforts should be spared to increase the impact of air transport on the populace as the continent strives to achieve beyond its current 3% share of global air transport.

The president of Namibia, Mr. Hifikepunye Pohamba, said African aviation is largely untapped, adding that aviation in all parts of the world plays a central role in the development of the economy.

 On his part, the secretary general of African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Dr. Elijah Chingosho, said foreign carriers were scrambling to control African airspace and aviation markets and called for the need for strict regulations to protect the domestic airlines.

 ‘We should deliberate on the implementation of strategies .We have the necessary strategies in place but are begging for implementation .We need the political will, courage and firmness to ensure that strategies are implemented to the fullest