An African single air Transportation market will be launched in January 2018 with 40 plus countries expected to be signatories by then. Thus far 20 African nations out of 55 have subscribed to African single air market. The statement was created by David Kajange, Head of Transport and Tourism Division, Department of Infrastructure and Energy at African Union (AU) on Sunday at a press conference on the sidelines on the ongoing 29th AU summit being held from June 27-July 4 in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. A single air transportation market is just one of the targets of AU’s Agenda 2063, aiming to associate Africa through aviation and other transport infrastructure to accomplish integration and boost intra-Africa trade. The sole air transportation market also intends to boost African nations’ tourism, economic development and economic development.
Kajange says Africa became the most expensive air transport market in The world due to individual nations’ regulations and policies which Hinder air connectivity. Based on Euroavia International, a Company Specializing in consulting services for airports and aviation industry, Air transport in Africa is on average twice as expensive as the world planet average. An African Open Skies vision has been there since 1980s, Culminating in the adoption of the Yamassoukro Decision of African Heads Of States of November 14, 1999. However, between 2004 and 2014, despite Sustained economic development on the continent, a growing business and Tourism sector and growing middle class, the market share of African Airlines has dropped drastically. The loss of market share by African Airlines has been estimated by the AU to have been from 60 percent to Under 20 percent.
