African leaders commit to open skies policy

The resurrection of an open

skies policy – following the

failure by the majority of

African nations to meet

the requirements of the

Yamoussoukro Declaration

(1988) – is possible, as the

continent moves from an

autocracy to a technocracy.

This according to

international

transport

logistics

expert and

chairman of

Africa Atlantic

Holdings, Issa

Baluch, who

told FTW

that African

leaders were

beginning

to see the

economic

benefits

of a more

liberalised air

transport environment and

had subsequently committed

themselves to furthering the

notion of an open skies policy.

“The African economy is

rising, with sub-Saharan

Africa still largely being one of

the fastest growing economies

in the world, despite the global

slump in commodities prices.

And the region’s leaders are

mainly made up of educated

professionals who understand

that they could boost their

countries’ gross domestic

product (GDP) by millions of

dollars by providing easier air

access on the continent,” he

said.

Baluch

pointed out

that the

Yamossoukro

Decision

(1999) –

signed by over

40 African

countries

in the Ivory

Coast city just

over a decade

ago – had

failed to meet

its mandate of

“integration

and cooperation” between

national carriers for a number

of reasons, not least of which

was the fact that the agreement

was not legally binding and

that there was no monitoring

body to ensure implementation

of the decision.

“National carriers were

protective of their own profits

and routes, nepotism prevailed

and many trade blocs pursued

their own liberalisation

agreements to the exclusion

of others,” he explained,

adding that the continent was

changing as it increasingly

recognised the benefits of

collaboration in boosting its

economic growth.

The African Airlines

Association (Afraa) had agreed

last year to formally implement

the Yamoussoukro Decision by

January 2017, Baluch pointed

out, commenting that if this

commitment was followed

through, it would result in

about 85% of the continent’s

carriers collaborating on

routes and integrating growth

strategies.

“Furthermore, 12 to 13 of

the 26 member states of the

Tripartite Alliance – formed

between three trade blocs: the

East African Community, the

Southern African Development

Community (SADC) and

the Common Market for

Eastern and Southern Africa

(Comesa) – have committed to

liberalising their skies by next

year,” he said.

Further signs of cooperation

and integration on the African

continent were evident in the

African Union’s decision in

June this year to create a single

passport for travel between

countries, he added.

“Africa is on a collective path

towards economic growth

and has expressed its joint

commitment to pave the way

for investment by cutting down

on red tape and increasing the

ease of doing business on the

continent,” Baluch said.

He pointed out that many

industries were bemoaning the

lack of transport infrastructure

in the region, noting that if

governmental policies around

open skies were aligned,

infrastructure development

would naturally flow from

that.

“Most importantly, policies

need to be aligned with the

needs of the people they

serve, not the airlines or the

government. That’s why the

Yamoussoukro Decision failed

– because governments and

airlines claimed the rights for

themselves,” Baluch said.

INSERT & CAPTION

If just 12 African

national carriers

opened their skies for

one another, airfares

would drop by at

least one third.

– Issa Baluch