By Monday Ukoha
In the past couple of years and even currently many African countries have been investing in the upgrade of their airports. In November 2024, Angola became the latest as it opened its Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto Angola International Airport. Other major international airport projects in the pipeline on the continent include the Bugesera International Airport in Rwanda and the ambitious 110 million passenger Mega Airport City at Abusera in Bishoftu city, Ethiopia.
These new airport infrastructure projects are direly needed for the projected growth of air transport in Africa and to support the continental flagship frameworks on air connectivity and intra African trade.
Air passenger figures have continued to grow in Africa. In 2024, industry figures show that Africa has recovered and exceeded the preCOVID traffic levels and is projected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% from 2025 up to 2030 for the intra African market. The sheer size of the continent and its population of 1.4 billion or 17% of world population have often been cited as growth opportunities especially when juxtaposed with Africa’s 2.1% share of world air traffic.
SAATM AND AfCFTA
The Single African Air Transport market (SAATM) and The Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) are African Union flagship projects within the context of the African Union Agenda 2063, which seeks to improve the living conditions of Africans. Though operated differently with autonomous secretariats, the frameworks reinforce one another: for trade to grow, air transport is very important and vice versa.
SAATM is expected to spur shorter connecting times and flights to more city pairs across Africa, fare reduction, traffic growth and job creation. So far, the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) says over sixty (60) new Intra-Africa routes have been established and being operated since 2022. It further states that Fifth freedom traffic capacity in Africa has increased from 15% in 2018, to 19% in 2023 with a target of 30% fifth freedom routes by 2025.
Ditto for the AFCFTA, in terms of African trade. It has been projected that by 2030, if implemented, AfCFTA will lead to a doubling of Africa’s freight tonnage carried by air. Taken together, SAATM and AfCFTA represent opportunity to drive air travel, trade and commerce in Africa.
Full implementation of SAATM and AfCFTA in Africa, according to studies, will lead to passenger increase, and more intra African trade relations and social interactions.
ARE AFRICAN AIRPORTS READY?
The success of both initiatives will lead to more passenger and freight volumes across Africa and put pressure on existing and future airport infrastructure. Airport improvements are going on across Africa, and even if not particularly with SAATM and AfCFTA in mind, in response to extant market realities and projections. Nevertheless, the reality is that in the era of SAATM and AfCFTA more functional and bigger airports, both primary and secondary are needed across Africa. Equally, needed are warehouses and specialized cargo facilities for storage of fresh produce and other perishables which are the leading components of Africa’s export trade. Equally, important is the allied equipment at airports to support passenger facilitation.
Secretary General of Airports Council International, ACI Africa, Mr. Ali Tounsi, speaking at January edition of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Sky Connect Dialogues session says Africa needs more investments in airport, including in Lagos and Johannesburg where there is congestion and aging infrastructure. Lagos airport has had periodic upgrades, even with a new terminal commissioned in 2022 though stakeholders seem to prefer that a totally new airport be built for the country. Cairo Airport and Jomo Kenyatta also need varying levels of investments to expand them.
Here we also find an imbalance in airport development on the continent. In some cases, some airports in Africa have over capacity. They have the infrastructure but the passenger throughput is not commensurate with the level of investment. While this is a challenge, it does provide opportunity for such countries to leverage the SAATM to drive traffic to the airport.
For example, Sierra Leone is engaged aggressively in measures to attract more traffic to its ultra-modern Freetown International Airport. The efforts seem to have paid off as in the last quarter of 2024, the airport witnessed the arrival of Overland Airways and the commencement of Air Sierra Leone.
SAATM has engendered a rapid increase in Fifth Freedom Rights in Africa. With Fifth freedom rights will come the need for bigger and dedicated transit facilities at African airports. By and large, it does appear many countries in Africa appear ready to support the implementation of SAATM more than the AFCFTA. Implementing AfCFTA would double the number of tonnes transported by air from 2.3 to 4.5 million according to the Economic Commission For Africa.
Therefore, African airports have a role to play in pushing more investments on the freight side of the airport business. Many stakeholders are piqued that cargo aircraft arrive many parts of Africa with full payload and depart African ports empty, which has made African freight rates more expensive.
Therefore more investment is need in infrastructure to support the export trade and AFCFTA. But as is well known, governments across the continent are finding it difficult to fund infrastructure begging the question whether the private sector can bail out.
Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos
CHARGES REMAIN A CONCERN
In order to develop their airport infrastructure, many Governments in Africa embraced a cocktail of funding options, namely loan from China, African Development Bank funding and Private Public Partnerships.
These funding options carry with them their drawbacks. For instance, there is agreement amongst stakeholders that BOT airports, especially in West Africa, are pricey. This may not be unconnected with the quest by these airport managers in Africa to recoup their investment within the agreed timeframe to run the airports, even as some of the airports are not running at their optimal levels thus leading to higher unit charges.
Mr. Tounsi notes that African Airlines and Airports need not to fight themselves but should collaborate more as some of these charges are imposed by governments and are detested by both airlines and airports. Speaking to Aviation & Allied Business Journal last year, the Director General of Gambai Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Fansu Bojang argued that airport managements in Africa has to incentive airport users as more travellers equal more revenue.
The challenge for African airport management companies is to not charge so much that they shoot themselves on the foot literally. And when airports charges are paired with high taxes on aviation particularly in West and Central Africa, they beget high ticket prices, a major disincentive to travelling.
Therefore, African governments and airport investors must have this difficult conversation on how to recoup investment without turning passengers away from the airport. It is common knowledge that Airport charges and government taxes on aviation in Africa are above worldwide average levels and are impacting ticket prices and the propensity to travel in the continent.
SAATM and AfCFTA are platforms that can enable connectivity in Africa and trade relations amongst African countries. Africa has continued to improve in infrastructure renewal of its airport but more needs to be done in terms of investments to prepare the continent adequately for the anticipated growth.
Finally, Governments across Africa must prioritize air transport as an enabler of trade to benefit from the SAATM and AfCFTA.