AFRAA Secretary General – Mr Abderahmane Berthé made a speech at the African Development Bank Transport Forum held on 17 September 2024 in Abidjan – Côte d’Ivoire. The event was held under the theme: “Africa on the Move—Accelerating Sustainable Transport and Logistics Connectivity”.
“Connectivity is defined by the ease of movement of people and goods with a reduced number of transit points, as short a travel time as possible, at the lowest and most affordable price possible and with good user satisfaction. To measure intra-African air connectivity, the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) created a connectivity index in 2019.” Mr Berthé stated.
As the fastest means of transport, air transport facilitates relationships between businesses, governments and citizens. It facilitates trade, investment, knowledge exchange and supports tourism flows. Air connectivity is therefore vital for economic integration and development. Unfortunately, intra-African air connectivity remains low.
Mr Berthé gave the illustration of Africa vs Europe: “The African continent is three (3) times larger than Europe in terms of area, and its population is 2.5 times larger than the European population. And yet, air transport activities in Europe are 11 times higher than those in Africa. Up to 22% of Africans travelling between two African cities are forced to pass through non-African stopovers, in Europe or the Middle East.”, he stated.
It is important to note that while economic growth is a driver of air connectivity, air connectivity itself is also essential to generate and promote economic growth. Connectivity is closely linked to trade, business development and tourism. The low level of intra-African trade and tourism does not promote the improvement of connectivity.
Mr Berthé highlighted the key factors impacting air connectivity as follows:
- Restrictions on access to markets through the regulation of air traffic rights;
- The size of demand which is sometimes not sufficient to support a good level of connectivity;
- Restrictions or difficulties in obtaining visas between states;
- Existing taxation policies that ultimately impact ticket pricing and the accessibility of air transport for Africans given the low level of average GDP per capita;
- The low level of cooperation between airlines is also a handicap for connectivity;
- Airlines’ fleet and network strategies also have an influence on connectivity when they are not adapted to demand;
- Finally, the level of airport infrastructure and systems must be adapted to user needs.
On ways through which stakeholders can facilitate improved connectivity, Mr Berthé cited these key points:
- Governments must develop regulatory and economic frameworks that promote the growth of air transport.
- Governments must focus on developing aviation infrastructure by attracting new investors and ensuring that sufficient capacity is created to meet demand.
- Governments and financial institutions should facilitate access to finance for airlines to facilitate the acquisition of equipment and systems needed to optimize their operations.
- Airlines should make efforts to reduce their production costs and develop new routes to improve their network connectivity, which is essential to their success.
- Airlines should invest in training to ensure the availability of African expertise at lower costs to cope with the doubling of traffic expected in the next 20 years.
In concluding his speech, Mr Berthé underscored that the importance of air connectivity to the economic development of the continent calls for stakeholders to work together to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to improve the current situation. He pointed out that AU initiatives such as SAATM, AfCFTA and the free movement of people and goods are key to promote connectivity. “In this regard, I thank the Bank for its support to these initiatives and in particular SAATM.” he said.
“We call for concerted efforts and close collaboration between governments, Development Financial Institutions, regulatory authorities, airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, service providers and customers.” he stated.