Africa can become world fastest growing air transport market, says ICAO Chief

At the opening of of the just concluded 2019 African Civil Aviation Summit, in Kigali, Rwanda, the leadership of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) gave antidote to processes that can consummate Africa as one of the world’s fastest growing air transport markets.

The Organisation insisted that Africa presents very robust aviation hub potentials if it opens self up regional cooperation, and investment toward the implementation of ICAO’s strategic plans, standards, and other guidance materials.

Aviation analysts say ICAO’s new projection for Africa stemmed from latest International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast which revealed that the Africa region, led by Nigeria, will grow by a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.6 per cent, while an extra of 199 million passengers will bring the total market available to Nigeria and other African airlines to 334 million passengers by 2037.

In his further submission, ICAO’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Barry Kashambo, observed that “As air connectivity remains a crucial catalyst for local and global development, the realisation of traffic growth projections will provide significant contributions towards the sustainable development of aviation in Africa, notably in terms of the achievement of the African Union and the United Nations’ respective goals”.

He argued that stronger air ties need to be sustained in terms of bilateral and multilateral co-operation in support of aviation development in recent years.

According to him, “Under our No Country Left Behind initiative, for example, and in close cooperation with appropriate State authorities, the African Union Commission (AUC), African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), IATA and other key industry stakeholders, ICAO provides distinct assistance and programmes to promote country-by-country ICAO compliance with the Standards And Recommended Practices (SARPs).

“In addition to our Global Plans and assistance work, ICAO undertakes the implementation of regional and national capacity-building initiatives and pursues these directly with African governments to address both known and emerging challenges to the safety, security and efficiency of air transport operations.”

Aviation experts say ICAO compliance underpins the safety, security, and sustainability of international air connectivity. It is, therefore, key to accessing the global civil aviation network.

The Organisation’s auditing provides strategic insights as to the levels of compliance within each of its 192 member states, enabling States to prioritise areas for improvement.

Kashambo said further that while many African states have now established effective safety and security oversight capacities in their territories, and no fatal accidents were recorded in either 2016 or 2017 here in Africa, ICAO audits of government oversight in these areas continue to reveal that a number of states are faced with challenges when it comes to assuring their ICAO compliance.

“In order to address these shortfalls in a collective and sustainable manner, political and government commitments coupled with a cohesive and focused approach involving all stakeholders are key prerequisites.”

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On how to achieve the new African agenda on aviation, Kashambo highlighted human resource development as an area of particular concern, noting that ICAO audits have revealed that a lack of adequately trained and qualified personnel is one of the biggest challenges faced by African civil aviation authorities.