Lack of infrastructure and the price of fuel remain the two biggest challenges for the African air freight sector. According to Elmarie Kriel, a lecturer in the department of transport and supply chain management at the University of Johannesburg, in 2017 airlines globally transported 53.9 million metric tons of goods, representing 35% of the world’s trade value. “Air freight brings speed, reliability and good security, and is able to serve a variety of locations,” she said. In Africa, air freight is sometimes the only way to reach far-off and remote areas, but it comes at a huge cost. This cost, said Kriel, is one of the biggest challenges. It is exacerbated by the everincreasing fuel price, which is having a negative effect on the sector. In addition, the lack of infrastructure on the continent poses an ongoing challenge. It is estimated that airlines operating in Africa use 50% more tyres than airlines that service Europe only. This is because of the state of many of the runways at African airports. Despite these difficulties, air freight into Africa will continue to grow, said Louise Wiggett, managing director of Global Trade Solution. “Airlines in Africa are starting to realise how important the freight sector is, and are increasingly focusing not just on passenger travel,” she said. “We are seeing the utilisation of more routes and more options for freight as airlines want to move more cargo.” According to Wiggett, the growing move to increase intra-African trade will also benefit the air cargo market in the long run. “Part of the the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is the Single African Air Transport Market initiative that 28 countries have already signed on to,” she said. “The expectations are really big and the goal is to break down the wall in the sky while driving costs down.” This is an important element, added Wiggett, considering flight and navigation costs in Africa are, on average, between 6% and 9% higher than those in Europe. “All of these initiatives will drive growth in the African air freight sector,” she concluded.