Airlines flying across East Africa could soon be able to take more direct routes through the region’s airspace, potentially cutting flight times, fuel consumption and operating costs — savings that could eventually help ease pressure on passenger fares.

Aviation authorities and airlines are working towards wider adoption of Free Route Airspace (FRA) and User Preferred Routes (UPRs), systems that allow aircraft to fly more efficient routes between designated points instead of relying entirely on fixed air traffic corridors.

Aircraft using such routes remain under air traffic control.

The push comes as African airlines grapple with some of the world’s highest operating costs, particularly fuel expenses.

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The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has been working with aviation authorities and airlines to expand the use of Free Route Airspace and User Preferred Routes across the continent.

By August 2025, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, EgyptAir, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir and ASKY Airlines had received approval to use User Preferred Routes covering 30 city pairs.

AFRAA estimated that the routes could save airlines more than 1,393 flight hours and 5,000 tonnes of fuel annually, translating into about $15 million in fuel-cost savings and preventing approximately 16,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Gaoussou Konate, AFRAA’s Director of Technical and Operations, said the association launched Free Route Airspace trials with financial support from Afreximbank.

"On 2nd of November 2023, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways operated the first flights outside their route networks, and along User Preferred Routes, from Addis Ababa to Abidjan and from Nairobi to Accra, respectively,” Konate said.

User Preferred Routes became operational in Western and Central Africa in October 2025.

Attention has since shifted to Eastern and Southern Africa, where three airlines participated in trials between June and September 2026.

"By the close of the workshop, it was agreed to set 21 January 2027 as the date for the operationalization of the UPR in ESAF,” Konate said.

If implemented as planned, the system would allow participating airlines operating across Eastern and Southern African airspace to increasingly choose more efficient flight paths.

Trials show potential savings

Results from the latest trials provide a clearer indication of what airlines could gain from more direct routing.

Between July 1 and September 15, 2026, three participating airlines operated 2,189 flights using User Preferred Routes, according to Konate.

"Together, those flights saved about 8,000 minutes of flight time, 1,218 tonnes of fuel, and 3,838 tonnes of carbon dioxide,” he said.

AFRAA estimates the financial saving at about $900 per flight, equivalent to approximately $2 million across the 2,189 trial flights.

The results, however, vary from one route to another.

"These are averages across trial flights. Savings on an individual route depend on how much the approved trajectory shortens the flight and on weather and traffic conditions,” Konate said.

"They should not be treated as a guaranteed result for every East African flight.”

For airlines operating eligible routes frequently, however, even relatively small savings on each flight could accumulate into significant reductions in annual operating costs.

That could be particularly important in Africa, where airline costs remain comparatively high.

Konate cited International Air Transport Association figures showing that, in its 2024 comparison, aviation fuel prices in Africa were around 17 per cent above the global average, while fuel accounted for about 40 per cent of African airlines’ operating costs.

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Will passengers pay less?

The bigger question for travellers is whether lower operating costs will eventually translate into cheaper tickets.

Konate said more efficient routes could help airlines become more cost-efficient and potentially offer more competitive fares over time.

But he cautioned against expecting an immediate or proportional reduction in ticket prices.

"A reduction in flight costs does not, however, produce an equivalent or immediate reduction in ticket prices,” he said.

Airfares are determined by several factors beyond fuel consumption, including passenger demand, available seat capacity, taxes, airport charges, passenger service fees and other airline operating costs.

Airlines could therefore use savings generated from shorter routes to absorb increases elsewhere, maintain existing services, strengthen profitability or improve operational reliability rather than immediately cutting fares.

"Wider, sustained use of more direct routes would give those savings a better chance of benefiting passengers in the medium- to long-term,” Konate said.

That means passengers may not necessarily see a direct $900-per-flight saving reflected immediately in ticket prices.

But if airlines consistently spend less on fuel and flight time across hundreds or thousands of journeys, the resulting efficiency could reduce some of the cost pressure that keeps African airfares high.

Which flights stand to gain most?

Not every route will benefit equally.

"Flights that currently take substantial detours around fixed routes or across flight information region boundaries are likely to see the largest savings on each journey,” Konate said.

The actual benefit will depend on how much shorter the approved route is, as well as prevailing weather and air traffic conditions.