Africa will be an aviation
growth point over the next
twenty years and South Africa
is committed to growing air
freight connectivity in Africa.
That was the message from
Minister of Transport, Dipuo
Peters when she delivered
a keynote address at the
International Air Transport
Association (Iata) Africa
Aviation Day conference held
in Johannesburg last month.
South Africa
is working
with several
of its regional
neighbours to
improve route
networks on
the continent
– and in line
with the
National
Development
Plan, the country was forming
strategic partnerships to grow
the aviation industry and
thus facilitate increased intra-
Africa trade.
“To date, about 45% of
intra-African exports travel
by air and air transport
contributes over US$12bn
to the African GDP – can
you imagine the untapped
potential if the current 12%
of intra-African trade is
significantly increased?
“The development of air
transport in
our region
and in the
whole of Africa
is therefore
our biggest
and largest
ambition. We
need to work
towards interconnectivity,”
noted Peters.
INSERT & CAPTION
About 45% of intra-
African exports now
travel by air.
– Dipuo Peters
