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Development and economic growth have given rise to promising airlines on the African continent. While COVID-19 has shaken the industry, the continent is striving to make progress in strengthening its aviation industry. Read Stracker's focus on the state of Africa's transport sector.
Since the early 2000s, the aeronautics sector in Africa has undergone significant change.
The continent's overall economic growth during this period, and the liberalization of the African market, have enabled new airlines to emerge.
Today, some of these airlines have become quite important in Africa. This is the case, for example, ofAir Peace, a Nigerian airline founded in 2013, which today serves no fewer than 20 destinations, for a fleet size equal to 25. Other examples include Air Côte d'Ivoir, Rwandair and Mango Airlines.
This growth has improved intra- and extra-African connectivity, encouraging the development of tourism and increased air freight links. Despite this, exports to other continents continue to dominate. These accounted for approximately 85% of the continent's total exports in 2019.
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the airline industry in Africa.
Worldwide, the closure of borders during the crisis led to a 90% fall in passenger traffic in April 2020, and a 30% drop in air freight volume over the same period.
In contrast to other continents, which subsequently returned to sluggish growth, Africa recorded cargo traffic growth of 33.9% post-covid, compared with 7.7% for the rest of the world.
The sector as a whole was able to overcome the crisis thanks to the support of African states, which disbursed 4 billion dollars to support the sector. Today, regional and international initiatives such as the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA ) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) seek to strengthen the transport sector across the continent.
In terms of freight volumes, Nairobi Jomo Kenya airport ranked first in Africa, handling over 360,000 tonnes of cargo in 2021. Cairo came second with 280,000 tonnes.
Today, Africa's air transport infrastructure is still limited. Although the continent has experienced significant economic growth in recent years, the African infrastructure deficit is still estimated at $170 billion (all sectors combined).
As a result, many airports in Africa do not have sufficient capacity to efficiently handle the growing volume of goods. Airstrips and warehousing facilities are sometimes inadequate to cope with the significant growth facing the African continent.
Finally, intra-African air links are still relatively weak compared to other regions of the world. Most flights are between Africa and other parts of the world (around 85%).
Nevertheless, efforts are being made to improve connectivity between the various states of the African Union. Recently, in 2018, the ZLECAF was set up, a free trade agreement between 44 countries to facilitate trade between them.