Africa Focus: Africa urged to liberalize aviation sector

The global airline industry association on Tuesday urged African nations to liberalize their aviation sectors in order to make the industry competitive and accelerate regional integration.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General Tony Tyler told an aviation forum in the Kenyan capital Nairobi that African airlines should have the freedom to develop their business.

"In the long term, this will help to build a stronger African airline industry which could then spread its wings further globally," Tyler said.

He noted that Africa currently punches below its weight in terms of connectivity with the rest of the world with African airlines.

Africa's aviation has the potential to be a catalyst for economic growth and development, Tyler said, as IATA data shows the industry supports close to 6.9 million jobs on the continent and contributes about 80 billion U.S. dollars to Africa's Gross Domestic Product.

In 1999, African nations signed the Yamoussoukro Declaration that calls for the liberation of Africa's aviation industry.

Tyler said that since January this year, 11 states have signed up to the full implementation of the declaration. He urged other nations to follow suit "for their benefit and the overall benefit of Africa."

The African Union member states have committed themselves to implementing Yamoussoukro agreement by the end of 2017.

Tyler added that safety is also a key concern for the industry as accident rate last year in Africa, he said, was 11.18 for every one million flights.

Only 14 out of 54 African states comply with 60 percent or more of international civil aviation recommended practices, according to IATA.

The association is working with a number of African airlines to bring them onto the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry. So far 27 sub-Saharan African airlines have received the safety audit. Endi