Namibia is set to participate in the piloting of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), which is expected to see a 27% reduction in air fares, create close to 600,000 jobs and add US$4.2 billion to the continent’s gross domestic product.
“We are obviously looking at having more airlines coming into the country through a non-bureaucratic perspective. The whole intention is to do away with bilateral air service agreements, where we have an economic integration of respective African countries among ourselves.
“Consumers will obviously have more choice and contribute to improved interconnectivity within Africa and the reduction of airfares. Those are expected outcomes that we foresee when we implement since Namibia is a signatory to SAATM,” Namibia Civil Aviation Authority Executive Director Toska Sem told The Brief.
Namibia is among 15 of the 35 signatory states that early this month resolved to launch a cluster to pilot the scheme which has seen minimal progress since its launch in January 2018.
Countries participating in the pilot are Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Africa, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo and Zambia.
These countries have agreed to launch SAATM flights between their territories.
The airlines have signed a strategic partnership framework, which aims to cut costs and increase the size of the available fleet at their disposal and comes after the AU has highlighted the lack of harmonisation of health protocols at airports, as well as high taxes and charges that raise the cost of air transport.
The 15 states are expected to cement their decision further by aligning their respective air service agreements to the SAATM regime when they again meet during this year’s International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Air Services Negotiation in Abuja in December.
According to the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), the pilot markets were selected based on their willingness to participate and possession of key enablers for fully liberalised skies on the continent.
The commission says 35 member states have committed to unconditionally implement SAATM while 21 states have signed the memorandum of implementation for its operationalisation.
The 35 states are estimated to account for over 85% of intra-African traffic and over 800 million of Africa’s 1.2 billion population.
Although SAATM’s predecessor, the Yamoussoukro Decision, has theoretically been in force since July 2000 when African heads of state and government endorsed it during their meeting in Lomé, Togo, African skies have remained largely closed, with countries opting for bilateral air services agreements.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which has long championed the scheme, said: “Open air arrangements boost traffic, drive economies and create jobs.
“SAATM will ensure aviation plays a major role in connecting Africa, promoting its social, economic and political integration and boosting intra-Africa trade and tourism as a result.”
AFCAC Secretary General Adefunke Adeyemi said the commission is now expecting member states to align their respective air service agreements and for eligible airlines to begin to expand operations across the continent.
“The launch of SAATM as the first flagship project of the AU Agenda 2063 on January 28, 2018, is considered as a turning point towards the full liberalisation of the air transport market on the continent,” Adeyemi said.
The pilot is expected to demonstrate the benefits and build the confidence of bystanders to fully open their air transport markets.
“With the unveiling of this pilot project of ready and willing African states that have requisite SAATM implementation enablers and with the overall benefits associated with the liberalisation of the African air transport through the YD, including air transport’s contribution to the AFCFTA to facilitate intra-African trade, this will elicit the commitment of member states that have not yet signed the Solemn Commitment, to sign up,” Adeyemi added.
This comes as Namibia recently held the Aviation and Connectivity Forum, which aimed at charting a new direction for the sector, ensuring a sustainable vision for the Namibian aviation industry.
At only 1.9% of global traffic in 2019, Africa’s aviation contributed US$63 billion to the continent’s GDP and 7.7 million jobs, half a million of them being direct.
