Approximately 250 participants, 40 nationalities representing Africa, Europe and the United States. Absent, Russia, of course, but also Asia. This first Aerospace African Forum is undeniably a success with a relevant formula of a 24-hour event alternating round tables and breaks which allowed the leaders of civil aviation, airlines and airports to speak. From the opening plenary with the theme “What air transport after the crisis?” “, The tone is set. Instead of giving the floor to the CEOs of large structures, the AAF organization asked five women who matter in the air industry to speak. This choice is not trivial when we know the decision-making role of women in Africa. Yvonne Makolo, CEO of Rwandair, Poppy Khoza, CEO of The South African Civil Aviation Authority, Yannick Assouad, Vice-President, Director of Thales Avionique, Adefunke Adeyemi, Secretary General of The African Civil Aviation Commission succeeded each other at the microphone. Moderation was provided by Gesche Wüpper, President of the Association of Professional Aviation and Space Journalists.
It can be seen that, overall, air transport in Africa has recovered after the pandemic. In 2022, according to IATA, the world association of airlines, overall passenger traffic for all African companies increased by 89.2% compared to 2021, with an average load factor around 71.7% for flights. This nevertheless corresponds to the weakest performance of the year according to the different regions of the world. Updated figures indeed indicate that Africa’s share of the global market is around 2.1%.
This crisis was therefore not an opportunity to remedy the structural shortcomings. Thus, to arrive in Casablanca from one of the 54 African countries with international air activity, several AAF participants had to go through Europe or the Gulf airports, for lack of connections in Africa itself. Too many countries are landlocked, fairly well connected within regions like North Africa, West and Central Africa, East Africa and South Africa. As soon as it is necessary to connect a metropolis of a region to a medium-sized city of another, it can be the impossible operation. States must ensure the freedom of air transport and not restrict access to the market, stressed several speakers, deploring that the system of taxes and charges weighs down the cost of tickets.
Another sensitive subject, the decarbonization of air transport in Africa is difficult to gain acceptance when this sector represents only 0.04% of global emissions. “Eradicating extreme poverty remains a priority”, stressed one participant, “but any additional cost for a flight can be critical and leave a large part of the population on the ground”. The use of carbon-free fuel (SAF) is very expensive. Currently unavailable in Africa, it costs four to five times more than kerosene in Europe. However, conventional aviation fuel can already cost 15 to 25% more at an African airport than in Europe.
