Different delegates from African member states have on December 1, convened in Kigali for the African Civil Aviation Commission meeting, which is set to discuss matters of concern in the aviation industry. The meeting will be opened by President Paul Kagame, who will join Gabriel Lesa, the President of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and Salvatore Sciacchitano the president of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and other delegates from the global aviation industry. The 33rd Plenary session of the AFCAC, a specialized Agency of the African Union mandated to oversee matters related to aviation across Africa, is expected to run till December 3. The New Times has learnt that matters of discussion range from the safety and security of the African aviation industry, sustainable development of air transport in Africa, the Yamoussoukro Decision, and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). Currently ratified by 34 African countries, SAATM is a flagship project of the African Union Agenda 2063, an initiative of the African Union to create a single unified air transport market in Africa to advance the liberalization of civil aviation in Africa and act as an impetus to the continent’s economic integration agenda. A survey by IATA indicates that if just 12 key Africa countries opened their markets and increased connectivity, an extra 155,000 jobs and US$1.3 billion in annual GDP would be created in those countries. Delegates in attendance are from the African Union Commission, state ministers in charge of civil aviation, and delegates from ICAO and the Arab Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO). Other bodies participating include the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission (LACAC) and other high-ranking decision-makers in the global aviation industry. Last year, the aviation sector was hardly hit by the pandemic as international borders were closed and countries went into lockdowns. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted that every day of the year 2020 would add $230 million to industry losses which accounted for a total loss of $84.3billion, erasing more than a decade of growth. The industry, however, embarked on the recovery journey as air transport restrictions eased in different countries around the world over the past months. Unfortunately, to the current situation of the latest outbreak of Omicron, the new variant of concern, some countries have already started to institute travel restrictions which will most likely dampen a situation that was promising.
