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Travelling within Africa can often mean leaving the continent altogether. A passenger flying from Nairobi to Marrakech may find the fastest route runs through Paris, a detour that shows how fragmented Africa’s skies remain. Despite growing economies and increasing demand for travel, many major cities are still poorly connected, forcing travellers into costly and time-consuming layovers in Europe or the Middle East.
The problem, according to aviation experts, lies in restrictive bilateral air service agreements between African countries. These pacts decide which airlines can fly where, preventing true competition and cross-border efficiency. Raphael Kuuchi of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) notes that such limits make it difficult for airlines to move passengers freely, calling market access the sector’s biggest challenge.
To fix this, organisations such as AFRAA, the African Union, and the African Civil Aviation Commission are pushing for a single African aviation market modelled loosely on the European Union’s. That would allow any African airline to operate within member countries, simplifying routes, lowering prices, and encouraging investment in new connections.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that Africa’s aviation sector supports about $75 billion in economic activity and 8.1 million jobs, yet accounts for only 2% of global air travel. The African Development Bank sees a $25 billion infrastructure gap by 2040, underscoring how underdeveloped the market remains. Liberalisation, IATA projects, could add nearly $4 billion to GDP and create more than half a million jobs.
Still, expansion has been slow. In Europe, around two-thirds of flights are within the continent, but in Africa, only a fifth are. Economies of scale remain a hurdle. South Africa’s low-cost carrier FlySafair, for instance, operates just 37 aircraft a far cry from the hundreds flown by its American counterparts. Many routes between African capitals carry fewer than 100 passengers a day, too few to sustain standard aircraft profitably.
High operating costs add to the strain. Jet fuel, airport fees, and taxes are steeper than global averages, while infrastructure inefficiencies drag down margins. IATA’s Somas Appavou says airlines in Africa earn roughly $1 profit per passenger compared with a global average of $7, blaming over-taxation and poor policy. He argues that governments often see aviation as a quick source of revenue, overlooking its wider potential as an engine of trade, tourism, and job creation.
Kuuchi and others insist that better coordination between regional bodies and governments can help African citizens move more freely and affordably. But achieving this vision means aligning dozens of national regulators and opening long-protected markets a politically delicate task.
The drive to liberalise Africa’s skies opens doors for investors and entrepreneurs across multiple fronts. Regional airlines can expand by forming joint ventures and leasing smaller aircraft to serve thin routes. Infrastructure developers have opportunities in airport modernisation, logistics hubs, and maintenance facilities. Technology companies can introduce booking, payment, and route optimisation platforms tailored to local needs. Training centres for pilots, engineers, and ground staff are in high demand as fleets grow. Meanwhile, financial institutions can back leasing and aircraft-finance pools that lower entry barriers for new carriers. Sustainable aviation fuel production and on-airport solar power also offer long-term environmental and commercial gains. Collectively, these ventures could transform Africa’s aviation industry from a fragmented network into an integrated economic catalyst.
