Mr. Chamsou Andjorin, Coordinator of AAIG (African Aviation Industry Group) in this interview with Aviation & Allied Business discussed the need for government to invest in STEM education, SAATM, SAF, safety amongst other topics in the African aviation industry.
Q: In your opinion, what do you think Africa needs to do to implement SAATM?
A: First of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to have this interview. SAATM is at the core of aviation development in Africa, but SAATM is just like building roads, you need the cars, you need the travelers and you need the traders to make it work. We are still at the early stage of that journey, despite the YD being adopted since 1999, and the more we make all stakeholders aware of the potential that SAATM is creating, the more we will get traction and we will get it to be fully implemented.
Q: For Africa, it looks like we are free and open to airlines from outside of the continent, and when it comes to our own, we block them. Is there any particular reason for that?
A: I think it’s linked to the economic relationship between those countries and Africa. There is also a structure whereby, you know, the hospitality in Africa is always turning towards the foreigner, and that’s part of our culture. You want to welcome others in your home and sometimes you forget your own kids, but that needs to change.
Q: What advice would you give to African a Airlines and African leaders on what they need to do to improve connectivity?
A: First of all, connectivity will start by states opening the routes. It does make sense to have free routes because the routes are free, no investment is needed to open the routes. It’s just a will, a political will. But even if you do that, it’s not enough.
You still need to create the conditions for people to move, that is, to want to fly because they have the resources, the purchasing power to do so. It implies economic sustainability because they have opportunities to visit or do business where they want to go, or because they have trade opportunities. All these things need to work together: economic development, trade development, free movement of people, for SAATM to fully reach its goal.
Q: One of the key areas for you in Africa Aviation Industry Group (AAIG) is the state of safety in Africa. In your opinion, how would you describe the safety level in Africa?
A: First of all, let me say a few words about AAIG. It is the African Aviation Industry Group. The idea came about bringing together all the stakeholders in African aviation to grow the business from 2.1% which it was in 2016 to 5 or 8% or even more to align with the Africa potential. And we realised that it cannot be done by the airlines alone, nor by the airports alone, but altogether. So we created this group to have that platform for airlines, airports, Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), OEMs and all partners of industry to discuss and develop strategies and initiatives to grow the market. Because if the market grows, it’s good for everyone. So it’s very business oriented.
Now, part of it is also safety. We don’t have a specific programme going on safety. For safety, we have another initiative that we have created, which is the Aviation Safety Alliance for Africa. This time with individuals like Captain (Gilbert) Kibe, Dr. (Harold) Demuren, Colonel Silas, Iyabo Sosina, myself, Tom Kok, Gaoussou Konate, Prudencio Behanzin, and others coming together and saying let’s not just leave safety issues to the institutions, but as industry leaders, what can we do to develop safety in Africa?
And we believe that it starts with sharing knowledge, creating awareness about safety issues, safety culture and talking to the aviation professionals. We organise webinars and safety interviews like this that we are doing to reach that goal. And progressively, we get into organising gatherings specifically oriented with safety.
But the one thing we don’t want to do is to duplicate efforts. So, we adjust our strategy to what others are already doing to fill the gaps in order to work together.
Q: On environmental sustainability, there is a school of thought that says Africa, just like you said just controls 2.1% of the global market, therefore, the contribution of Africa to environmental pollution is not that much. Do you think African Airlines needs to pay so much attention to environmental sustainability? How do you think they should go about it?
A: There is on one hand, a challenge and also an opportunity. On the challenge side, yes, aviation globally contributes 2.4% of the carbon emission, but Africa is 2.1% of that. Yet, it’s a global concern. We need to be part of that global thought. First of all, because the customers that we are addressing are concerned about this climate change, and so we need to provide solutions that reassure them that we are caring for them. The African aviation industry has to be part of this global sustainability issues, but with our own resources.
The first challenge that we have is 60% or more of the efforts today is on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), and it requires funding, technology and infrastructure to develop that. The opportunity for Africa is that we have a large landmass and we produce some of the biomass that is required to produce this fuel. We may be one of the producers of SAF if it is well thought through and we have the financial support to do that. If not, and we stay at the position of consumers, it will be very difficult because it will be very costly for us.
Currently, we know that the SAF is not a technological challenge. We can produce SAF, airplanes can fly with SAF blended with fossil fuel, but it’s extremely expensive and no African airline can afford the solution that exists today. As time goes by, the price will come down and it will become more affordable. But that is about 60 to 65%. We need to be part of the solution and contribute our biomass to produce SAF at a cost that is affordable to us and to the rest of the world. Maybe we can be SAF producers. That’s an opportunity.
But there are other areas where we can do better: in fleet renewal, in operational performance, at the airports and in our way of doing business. So we need to be part of the journey. We cannot stay away from that.
Q: Looking at AAIG and your focus area of growing the business for African air transport industry, human capacity is very critical and across the world, there is a shortage of manpower. How do you think Africa can position itself to better leverage its human capacity for growth and also train the next generation of aviation leaders?
A: That’s a very good question because today, looking at the Africa population, 80% is less than 25 years. These young people are the ones that will drive all businesses in the future. We need to have a plan to train them, first bring them into aviation through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This is an area where we need to invest and we are not doing that; because it’s easier to be a law expert or financial expert. But it takes a longer time to develop the skills in technology and other areas of STEM. We need to encourage the young people to go to STEM studies.
That’s one thing. The other thing is that we also need resources. We need government to allocate resources to STEM education. As SAATM grows and the industry develops, you create jobs that will attract these young people. Everything is interconnected. If you look at the industry today, not only the airlines, 80% of the African airlines are in difficulties. They are not a job source for the youth that we are talking about. For airports, half of them are almost in bankruptcy (difficulty), so they are not providing the opportunity for job creation in the industry. It’s only through the economic development that SAATM, AfCFTA and Free Movement of People will generate that will create an industry that is vibrant enough to attract and employ the youth. And we need to train them to be ready for that industry, we also need the resources to be able to train them. We cannot wait for the industry to develop before we start training them. We need to have a systemic approach to that. And that’s where we are all involved, you as the media, our politicians, the industry, we all need to work together on those things.
Q: We’ve seen African airlines place large orders for aircraft in recent times. How do you think these airlines benefit from these purchases in terms of developing the technology base of this continent. How can African airlines integrate these benefits in their fleet acquisition?
A: Let’s take it from the airplane’s purchase. When you buy an airplane, the manufacturers support your workforce to be able to maintain and operate the airplane. When we take it from the end you realise that it is their interest to go downstream to prepare the workforce to be ready and to be efficient. It’s a matter of strategy and preparation. Today, Ethiopian Airlines makes parts for Airbus and Boeing; they have developed that capability, and Boeing has helped them improve to the level where they want them to be.
It goes both ways. There is a need for local strategy and action. Then it’s also in the interest of the manufacturers to seize those opportunity. And when you have that capability on the ground, you can make it a condition to buy the airplanes, and it’s a win on both ways. In summary, you need to first to have the infrastructure built up, then ask for assistance to raise the bar and then negotiate partnerships.
Q: Looking at AAIG and your focus area of growing the business for African air transport industry, human capacity is very critical and across the world, there is a shortage of manpower. How do you think Africa can position itself to better leverage its human capacity for growth and also train the next generation of aviation leaders?
A: That’s a very good question because today, looking at the African population, 80% is less than 25 years. These young people are the ones that will drive all businesses in the future. We need to have a plan to train them, first bring them into aviation through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This is an area where we need to invest and we are not doing that; because it’s easier to be a law expert or financial expert. But it takes a longer time to develop the skills in technology and other areas of STEM. We need to encourage the young people to go to STEM studies.
That’s one thing. The other thing is that we also need resources. We need government to allocate resources to STEM education. As SAATM grows and the industry develops, you create jobs that will attract these young people. Everything is interconnected. If you look at the industry today, not only the airlines, 80% of the African airlines are in difficulties. They are not a job source for the youth that we are talking about. For airports, half of them are almost in bankruptcy (difficulty), so they are not providing the opportunity for job creation in the industry. It’s only through the economic development that SAATM, AfCFTA and Free Movement of People will generate that will create an industry that is vibrant enough to attract and employ the youth. And we need to train them to be ready for that industry, we also need the resources to be able to train them. We cannot wait for the industry to develop before we start training them. We need to have a systemic approach to that. And that’s where we are all involved, you as the media, our politicians, the industry, we all need to work together on those things.
Q: We’ve seen African airlines place large orders for aircraft in recent times. How do you think these airlines benefit from these purchases in terms of developing the technology base of this continent. How can African airlines integrate these benefits in their fleet acquisition?
A: Let’s take it from the airplane’s purchase. When you buy an airplane, the manufacturers support your workforce to be able to maintain and operate the airplane. When we take it from that end you realise that it is their interest to go downstream to prepare the workforce to be ready and to be efficient. It’s a matter of strategy and preparation. Today, Ethiopian Airlines makes parts for Airbus and Boeing; they have developed that capability, and Boeing has helped them improve to the level where they want them to be.
It goes both ways. There is a need for local strategy and action. Then it’s also in the interest of the manufacturers to seize those opportunity. And when you have that capability on the ground, you can make it a condition to buy the airplanes, and it’s a win on both ways. In summary, you need first to have the infrastructure built up, then ask for assistance to raise the bar and then negotiate partnerships.