Pillars for successful implementation of SAATM: AFRAA intervention at the ACI Conference

AFRAA, represented by Ms Maureen Kahonge - Senior Manager Business Development and Communications, made an intervention during the Aviation Stakeholders session at the 33rd Annual General Assembly & Regional Conference, held on 19 September in Johannesburg - South Africa.

AFRAA intervention covered the following areas:

Effectiveness of the SAATM to improve air connectivity and affordability of Air Transport in Africa.
African Airlines benefiting from the SAATM updates.
Alignment of the vision of African Airlines o SAATM with African CAAs, Airports, ANSPs.
With regards to the status updates on African Airlines benefiting from SAATM, it was reported that, as of June 2024, 4th Freedom accounted for the largest share of connectivity capacity, while the 5th Freedom represented the smallest proportion, at 21%. 85% of intra-African flights are directs vs 15% connecting with one stop or more.

Among the direct flights, 5th freedom routes account for 21%, whereas 3rd and 4th freedom flights make up 79%. ASKY Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, Uganda Airlines and Kenya Airways are the African airlines operating the highest number of 5th freedom routes.

AFRAA Airline Feedback on SAATM Implementation & Denial of Traffic Rights

Highlights of an AFRAA survey on member airlines, it was noted that among 9 (nine) reporting airlines, some reported traffic rights denial by 15 African States:

The key challenges highlighted by airlines on SAATM implementation:

80% reported lack of reciprocity and political will to implement SAATM.
65% pointed to regulatory barriers, including bilateral agreements that did not accommodate or encourage SAAM Implementation.
Other challenges to full SAATM implementation reported:
Infrastructure challenges
Political instability
Sabotage of air traffic rights
Poor ratification of SAATM agreements by States
Non-domestication of legislation
Financial constraints to facilitate fleet modernization and upgrade
Overall airline assessment from airlines on the progress of SAATM was considered fair by airlines.

The key pillars for effective implementation of SAATM were highlighted as follows:

Continuous improvement in Safety and Security
Regulatory & policy harmonization
Optimized infrastructure and establishment of a seamless Airspace Architecture.
Reduced taxes and charges (Competitiveness)
Ease of intra-African mobility (Visas/customs)
The effective operationalization of the Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM) through notification of implementation of the SAATM concrete measures.
Human capacity development (Skills and personnel pipeline)
Strengthening the capacity of implementing agencies and Member States
Multi-sector collaboration (Tourism, Finance, Health, Agriculture, Education etc
The presentation made highlights of the targets on SAATM that were set under the SAATM Task Group of the LAB Roadmap for Air Transport Sustainability that was held in 2022 and the industry progress-to-date on SAATM implementation.

Governments were called upon to prioritize Air Transport as the single largest enabler of economic development worldwide and airlines encouraged to cooperate and consolidate. Route development for the economic and social development of Africa was noted among the key actions from airlines on SAATM.