PUBLISHER’S NOTE

The first quarter of 2024 has come with very exciting news for the aviation industry in Africa. Data from various industry bodies have shown that Africa has attained and indeed surpassed the pre COVID-19 traffic figures and has continued to grow emphasizing the resilience of the air transport sector in Africa. It is the expectation that the industry in Africa will take the necessary measures to continue on this growth path.

During the quarter, IATA also released its Safety Report noting 2023 as being the safest year for flying by many parameters. For Africa, the report notes: “The all accident rate improved from 10.88 per million sectors in 2022 to 6.38 in 2023, better than the 5-year average of 7.11. In 2023, there were no fatalities. This region has had no jet hull losses or fatal accidents since 2020. Additionally, 2023 marked the fifth occurrence of Africa reporting zero fatal turboprop accidents”.

No doubt, this achievement is a testament to the interventions of states, international partners and industry to focus attention on safety improvement in Africa. We invite stakeholders and partners to continue to focus on this very important subject of safety. If anything, the accidents in early 2024 serve to remind us that there cannot be too much focus on safety.

We commend the decision of the leadership of the African Airlines Association, AFRAA to partner with the Flight Safety Foundation to host the Inaugural African Aviation Safety & Operations Summit in Ethiopia on May 15, 2024 consecutively with the AFRAA Stakeholder Convention scheduled for May 12 to 14, 2024. The goal for Africa must remain the full attainment of the Abuja safety targets and improvement of aviation safety across all the sectors of the industry. We also wish to reiterate that it is essential for African airlines and aviation businesses to see tangible benefits of the safety improvement in their finance and insurance charges.

The first quarter has witnessed several activities geared toward the achievement of the SAATM: beginning with the Joint Prioritized Action Plan (JPAP) meeting in Nairobi, Kenya which had the goal of articulating and coordinating the workplans of the various stakeholders and partners for 2024, to the SAATM Pilot Implementation Project (PIP) meeting in Banjul, The Gambia in March, two workshops in Nairobi by AFRAA and AFCAC, and the sensitization workshop by the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority.
We also note and applaud the ongoing efforts to fully constitute the administration of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) of the YD as it will give succour and assurance of fairness and impartiality in the implementation of the YD. We encourage more states to sign up to the Solemn Commitment and ensure the full operationalization of the SAATM. SAATM implementation will benefit African countries and their peoples.

In line with the NetZero 2050 target, aircraft and engines will play crucial roles in reducing aviation’s carbon footprint and in the adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). In this edition of Aviation & Allied Business (Africa) Journal, we focus on Aircraft and Engines with an article on the role of aircraft engines in the adoption of SAF (SAF) in Africa, in addition to other insightful articles. This edition also features an exclusive interview with the Secretary General of AFRAA, Mr. Abderahmane Berthe. Mr. Berthe is very knowledgeable in the African Aviation industry being involved in many of the projects going on in the continent.

I thank you for your continued support and wish you a pleasant reading.

Thank you.

Capt. Edward Boyo