Airline industry leaders and government officials participating in the Airlines Association of Southern Africa’s (AASA) 48th Annual General Assembly in Livingstone, Zambia, want governments in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to help in addressing an array of pressures threatening the competitiveness and sustainability of carriers in the region.
At a time when global, regional and local political uncertainty, market turbulence and rising costs are taking their toll on trade, tourism and economic development, aviation industry professionals believe addressing these challenges will stimulate economic growth in the continent.
According to AASA, demand for air transport is set to increase slowly by two to three percent annually over the next 5 years, reflecting weak GDP performances in the region.
Chris Zweigenthal, AASA CEO, explains: “For the aviation industry to expand and fulfil its potential in supporting jobs and enabling economies to become stronger, passenger growth must return to levels greater than five percent. To accommodate the volumes, we will need to operate more flights. This will require appropriate investments in modern aircraft, in airports and in airspace management infrastructure and systems.”
‘To be competitive, Southern African airlines and the destinations and economies they serve must differentiate themselves through excellent customer service, efficiencies and value-for-money travel, trade and tourism propositions. The entire value chain must work together to keep air travel safe, contain (and reduce) costs, create hospitable visa and immigration regimes, mitigate and reduce our impact on climate change and establish stable, safe and secure physical and cyber environments,” he adds.
AASA also identified other handbrakes applied by governments which impede air travel, tourism and their ability to deliver growth. These included airlines inability to repatriate their revenues from a handful of African countries, including Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Laws on cybersecurity and personal data protection was another.
Furthermore, AASA CEO, says: “Tourism, along with trade, is a powerful lever of growth. But they are being stunted by uncertainties. As one of the most capital-intensive sectors and a vital enabler of economic activity, the airline industry needs Southern African governments to clarify their local economic reform policies so they do not spoil the appetite for much needed trade and investment in the region.”
Source: AASA