THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) have announced that AFRAA is joining the Focus Africa initiative.
Focus Africa aims to enhance the contribution of aviation to development across the African continent by better serving passengers and shippers.
Under Focus Africa, private and public stakeholders are committed to delivering measurable improvements in six critical areas - safety, infrastructure, connectivity, finance and distribution, sustainability, and skills development.
“AFRAA strengthens the Focus Africa coalition as we work to increase aviation’s role in Africa’s development. This has enormous promise. The continent is home to the world’s most rapidly growing population but accounts for just 2% of air passenger and cargo transport activity.
“The road to realizing aviation’s potential will be long. But with the strong partnerships committed to Focus Africa, we can, and we will realize the needed change,” said Kamil Al Awadhi, IATA’s regional vice president for Africa and the Middle East.
“AFRAA and IATA share a common vision – the development of a safe, secure and sustainable aviation industry in Africa that facilitates business, trade, and tourism and contributes positively to Africa’s economic growth and development.
“AFRAA fully supports and encourages collaboration in tackling the challenges and threats to the sustainability of Africa’s air transport sector. By joining IATA and the other Focus Africa partners, we can help propel this initiative which will deliver widespread social and economic benefits,” said Abderahmane Berthé, AFRAA secretary general.
IATA and AFRAA are also enhancing their collaboration by renewing a joint work programme which includes promoting regional air connectivity by working together with governments to support the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). This work aims to see the 23 countries committed to SAATM ratify the accord and encourage more countries to join the organisation.
The joint programme also aims to free airline funds blocked by governments from repatriation by advising governments on best practices to clear backlogs. Since 2018, a significant amount of blocked funds have been repatriated from Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe through working with the respective governments.
Currently US$1.5 billion in airline funds remains blocked across the continent.
Other initiatives under the programme include improving operational safety, achieving reasonable levels of taxes and charges as well as supporting compliance with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).