By Dickson Omobola

Chief Executive Officer of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa, AASA, Aaron Munetsi, has expressed concern over the state of aviation in Africa, saying despite the continent’s vast population and landmass, its contribution to global aviation remains marginal.

Munetsi fingered regulatory bottlenecks and weak economic fundamentals as major factors responsible for Africa’s underperforming aviation sector.

Referencing data from the International Air Transport Association, IATA, and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, he said Africa operates some of the oldest aircraft globally and maintains one of the smallest fleets, despite a population of about 1.4 billion people spread across 31 million square kilometres.

He spoke at the two-day Nigerian Aircraft Acquisition and Investment Summit, NAAIS, organised by the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development in Lagos.

His words: “According to statistics from IATA and ICAO, we have the oldest aircraft in the world and we have the smallest fleet in the world. This is a continent of 1.4 billion people, 31 million square kilometres and we are endowed with so much wealth. If you think about it, 1.4 billion people, yet our contribution to our global aviation is only two per cent. With all these resources, then something must be wrong somewhere.

 ”When you think about the actual commercial aircraft acquisition on the continent, with 52 national airlines, flag carriers on the continent, only seven are fully operational of the 52, and of these seven, only one is profitable. When you compare the profitability of African airlines per passenger, we are getting just less than 1 US dollar. That’s where the challenge is when it comes to aircraft acquisition because the economics are not working. Why are they not working? I think the regulatory framework is our biggest challenge. I hear the story that Africa has the oldest number of aircraft.

 “It does not surprise me, but at the same time, I am not alarmed because as long as the aircraft is maintained, it is still safe. Go to the United States and you will see how many old …are still flying.

 ”So, we should not cripple ourselves by embracing regulations that are actually not serving us. The number of aircraft on the continent is just less than the thousands that are in full commercial use. It is less than a thousand. Does anyone know how many aircraft Delta has? 1,500.

 ”The whole continent, we have less than a thousand aircraft. Now, if we are really serious about this, we applaud the initiative that has been taken here in Nigeria, because that is where we need to start. If we are serious about aviation, we need to start asking how we can actually bridge the gap in terms of acquisition of aircraft in Africa.”