Momentum is building behind the Single African Air Transport Market, or SAATM, a flagship project designed to create a single unified air transport market in Africa, organized by the International Air Transport Association.
The new routes should be easier to launch without the need for reciprocal services, and 17 African countries have now agreed to trial the initiative, out of a total of 35 signatory countries (representing 80 per cent of the existing aviation market in Africa). .
They are: Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Africa, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Zambia, Niger and Gabon,
The 17 airlines will now open their air transport markets to each other as part of a new “SAATM Project Implementation Pilot”. Kenya Airways will reportedly target corporate travel on a new Ghana-Senegal route, starting December 11.
The pilot routes come as more steps are taken to create a new continental airline following a pact between South African Airways and Kenya Airways. Earlier this month, a long-term business proposal was submitted, including migration policies and trade privileges.
The air transport plan could eventually generate $4.2 billion in additional gross domestic product), 600,000 new jobs, a 27 percent reduction in fares and make a contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, according to reports. For example, currently some routes between neighboring African countries involve connecting flights to nearby major international hubs.
The Single African Air Transport Market was established in 2018 and is seen as a step towards full liberalization of the continent’s air transport market.
