Africa’s aviation industry set to soar in coming years: Creecy

The aviation industry in Africa is set to provide greater economic opportunities after it was dealt a major blow by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to the pandemic, the sector supported 440,000 direct jobs and 6.5 million indirect jobs.

It created 63 million dollars worth of economic activity and amounted to nearly 3% of the continent’s GDP.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy opened the two-day Aviation Africa Summit in Sandton, calling for greater cooperation to foster growth.

PICTURES | Minister of Transport, Ms Barbara Creecy delivering a keynote speech at the 2024 Aviation Africa Summit 2024. pic.twitter.com/olXyOG2syi

— Department of Transport (@Dotransport) September 16, 2024

According to Transport Minister, Barbara Creecy, by fostering stronger co-operation among African nations, it is possible to improve the collective
air transport network across the continent. She has called on countries to work together to harmonise regulations, standards, procedures and improve
collaboration between aviation authorities.

“This will not only streamline operations, but also create a more cohesive and efficient aviation ecosystem across the continent,” she says.

Addressing delegates, SAA’s interim CEO, Professor John Lamola, says following the business rescue, the company has managed to make significant
improvements.

The airline is vital, contributing to job creation within the aviation and tourism sectors.

But Lamola says the business partner negotiations created challenges:

“It was a difficult period during which we had to live in a schizophrenic state of consciousness, where we were saying we are expecting the South African Airways to be catapulted into a different dimension with external funding, while at the same time, we had to ensure that the airline growth from six aircraft to where it is today is 16 aircrafts moving to 21 aircrafts by the end of our financial year and beyond,” says Lamola.

Meanwhile, Mission Aviation Fellowship – a non-profit that provides aviation services to isolated areas – has emphasized the important role the aviation sector plays in delivering humanitarian aid.

Donor relations officer, Refilwe Fosu-Amoah, says they connect remote communities with much-needed medical relief.

“A good example of that is the project that we’re doing flying for life in Limpopo, where we fly specialists, ophthalmologists and nurses into Limpopo to do operations on people that have cataracts. If we are not there, we hear stories of people who have been without sight for six years, seven years, meaning an old lady said 2023 years was the last time she saw. Some of these people are young, they lose their jobs because they can see anymore some of them. It’s a generational issue because now her child can’t go to school cause she needs to look after her grandma, who can’t see, or her mum who can’t see.”

As the aviation industry continues to grow, governments want to support this growth while being mindful of the environmental impact.