Air Transport : Challenges to Growth

The air transport market in Sub-Saharan
Africa presents a strong dichotomy. In Southern and East
Africa the market is growing: three strong hubs and three
major African carriers dominate international and domestic
markets, which are becoming increasingly concentrated. In
contrast, in Central and West Africa the sector is
stagnating, with the vacuum created by the collapse of Cote
d'Ivoire and the demise of several regional airlines,
including Air Afrique, still unfilled. Throughout, there are
many unviable small state-owned operations that depend on
subsidies and have a monopoly over the domestic market.
There are also some promising signs: growth in air traffic
has been buoyant, the number of routes and the size of
aircraft are being adapted to the market, and a number of
large carriers are viable and expanding. But in spite of
this, overall connectivity has been declining. As oil prices
rise, the role of air transportation will be looked at even
more critically. Africa is a poor continent, and some
countries face the potential of further isolation as the
cost of flying increases. At a time when Africa's
infrastructure requirements are being widely debated, a more
complete inventory of air transport capabilities is sought.
This report will focus on industry organization within
Africa; overall accessibility; and the quality of oversight
and infrastructure installations countrywide and at selected
airports with various capacities. Beyond data collected from
questionnaires sent directly to the civil aviation
authorities (CAAs) in each country, this report relies on
data collected through a variety of other sources,
especially from the providers of flight schedules to global
reservation systems, for an independent analysis of trends.