Airline association official slams high cost of starting an airline in Africa

“If I had wanted to start an airline, it would likely not be in Africa as the cost of doing business is very expensive for airlines.” 

This is the view of Kamil Al-Awadhi, regional vice-president for Africa and the Middle East of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The airline association’s AGM and conference is taking place in Delhi, India, this week.   

Al-Awadhi pointed out that the cost of fuel can be up to 17% higher for airlines operating in Africa; taxes, fees and charges 12%-15% higher; and air navigation up to 10% higher compared to other regions.   

“Operating in Africa is complicated because of the costs. Furthermore, aviation in Africa is not thriving due to protectionism. [African governments] all agree on opening the skies but once they have agreements in place, they go into their own shells and want to protect their own airlines,” said Al-Awadhi. “They then usually veer off from [related] bilateral agreements being utilised.” 

In his view, the priorities for the aviation industry in Africa should be to make aviation more affordable and improve connectivity. Africa’s air transport potential is held back by these barriers.

For example, there are weak regional links and a lack of market competitiveness which hamper the industry’s growth on the continent. Therefore, government support is essential to unlock aviation’s potential in Africa.

“Governments should make aviation a strategic priority, stop over-taxing the industry, invest in cost-effective infrastructure and enable greater connectivity,” he said. 

What he terms “regulatory harmonisation opportunities” would be an integrated air transport market, fair and proportionate consumer protection regulations, maintenance and safety oversight enhancement and cost-effective and timely investments in the industry, including infrastructure. 

In terms of government support, he said Africa needed to move towards a more integrated travel market. He said the countries not leading in aviation are the ones that did not plan ahead. 

“Yet, they do not hesitate to have high charges at the same time. And further, in terms of infrastructure, Africa always seems to be playing catch up,” he said. 

In his view, there will come a time when Africa’s aviation industry will simply not be able to handle the challenge of merely trying to keep up, and this would have a negative impact on growth in the industry on the continent.