African aviation conference closes with promises to improve travel

By Moky Edwin Kinzeka – Participants at this week’s Africa-Indian Ocean Aviation Week in Libreville, Gabon, say they have developed a plan to improve aviation development and safety across the continent.

About 350 delegates from 180 countries attended the Africa Indian Ocean Aviation Week, organized by the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to address climate change and regional terrorism and to strengthen air travel safety in Africa and the Indian Ocean region.

Officials in Gabon, Rwanda and Equatorial Guinea said they had agreed to expand their fleets and update their airports, while Nigeria said it would repair aging infrastructure.

Many participants said that African countries should now accept the “Single African Air Transport Market” plan, remove restrictions on the flight rights of African airlines, and achieve civil aviation liberalization across the entire African continent.

ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano is among those backing the idea, telling Gabonese state television that the continent needs to speed up implementation of the market to boost connectivity.

Sciacchitano expressed hope that governments and investors would take full advantage of Africa’s vast air transport opportunities to boost trade, create jobs and develop the continent.

ICAO said that while there had been no aircraft attacks in the past year, the threat of terrorism in African countries such as Nigeria, Cameroon and Niger sometimes caused passengers to reconsider their trips and discouraged some travelers from flying.

Delegates said there were no commercial aviation accident fatalities in Africa in 2023.

Gabon, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea have reached an agreement to search and rescue people in distress in the event of an accident or collision in the Atlantic waters shared by the three countries, said Gabon’s Transport Minister, Navy Captain Loic Ndinga Moudouma.

The AU pointed out that although Africa has a population of nearly 1.5 billion, accounting for about 18% of the world’s population, Africans account for about 3% of global travel.

Despite the challenges, airlines across Africa are expected to make at least $100 million in profits by 2024, compared with $90 million in 2023, the International Air Transport Association reported.

It was the first time Gabon had hosted a major international event since a military coup last August toppled longtime leader Ali Ben Bongo. Unlike military takeovers in other West African countries, such as Mali and Niger, the coup in Gabon was widely recognized.