34 Vol. 9 / No. 12/ December/January 2017/18 Global Aviator
African news
There is growing investor
interest in the aviation
industry in Africa as
revealed during the
recent three-day 2017
African Airshow held in
Ghana's capital Accra.Vita Buragiene, Regional Sales
Director Africa and Latin America for
Helisota, a helicopter maintenance
service group from Lithuania,
expressed great optimism about
the prospects of the industry on the
continent and West African market.
"I see this as a huge opportunity
in West Africa, especially in
Ghana and I hope to continue the
business in this region," she said.
The industry has been seeing
significant growth annually,
according to Raphael Guuchi, Vice
President of Africa International Air
Transport Association (IATA).
"Currently the African continent
operators carry 130 million passengers
every year. In 20 years time we
expect an additional 257 million
passengers to come to add to the
current 130 million. So we looking
at close to 400 million passengers
in 20 years," Guuchi observed.
Guuchi attributed this growth
rate to economic growth on the
continent and the growing youthful
population, with the middle class
in Africa growing significantly.
"Currently we have over 300 million
youth that are in the middle class; and
these guys have extra disposable income
that they can use to travel. Businesses are
growing and international investment
in the continent is also growing and all
of this is going to fund the development
of our industry," Guuchi pointed out.
He projected that, if just 12 African
countries were to open their markets
to each other, the additional Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) contribution
will be 1.3 billion dollars; in addition
to 155,000 new jobs to be created in the
12 countries; and a further 5 million
passengers, as the competition would
cause fares to decrease by 35 percent.
The Ghanian governmenthas given ‘policy approval’ for the
establishment of a new national airline
to drive the country’s bid to be the
air transport hub in the West Africa
sub-region, President Nana Addo
Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.
“Government has given a policy
approval for the establishment of
a home-based carrier with private
sector participation as part of efforts
to fulfil our aviation hub vision, and
also to enhance connectivity,” the
President said at the official opening
of the maiden African Air Show at the
Kotoka International Airport, Accra.
Proposals to establish a new
national airline follow the demise
of Ghana Airways over a decade
ago, and its successor, Ghana
International Airlines, few years later.
Given the average growth rate of
7 percent in the aviation sector over
the past half-decade, government
is seeking to establish a new flag-
carrier on a public-private basis
to tap into the current growth.
West Africa, with an estimated
350 million people – of whom most
are under 35, holds enormous
potential for the aviation sector that
can be harnessed by Ghana with the
establishment of a home-based carrier.
President Akufo-Addo further
called on African leaders to fully
implement the Yamoussoukro
Declaration and liberalise their air
spaces if the continent is to fully
realise the benefits of air transport.
Africa is home to 12% of the world’s
people, but it accounts for less than
1% of the global air service market.
Part of the reason for Africa’s
under-served status, according to
a World Bank study, Open Skies
for Africa – Implementing the
Yamoussoukro Decision, is that many
African countries restrict their air
services markets to protect the share
held by state-owned air carriers.
In the Yamoussoukro Declaration of
1988, many African countries agreed to
principles of air services liberalisation.
In 2000, the Decision was endorsed
by heads of state and governments
at the Organisation of African Unity
and became fully binding in 2002.
However, over the past decades
implementation has fallen short.Investor interest
in aviation in Africa growing
ExecuJet, part of the
Luxaviation Group,
has expanded the
maintenance offering at
its Nigeria facility with
the announcement that
it is now an authorised
Rockwell Collins avionics
dealership for Nigeria and
the West Africa region.A significant move for
the company, the news is part
of an ongoing trajectory for
ExecuJet’s MRO in Lagos, which
has seen a run of developments
and investments over the past
year. Expanding the availability
of both OEM and avionics
maintenance services is a key
goal of ExecuJet in Africa, as it
aims to be able to support every
client at their own home base.
Graeme Duckworth, Vice
President Africa and Executive
Vice President MRO Services,
Luxaviation Group, says: “ExecuJet
Nigeria is privileged to be
representing Rockwell Collins, as
more manufacturers recognise the
quality, performance and efficiency
that ExecuJet demonstrates on
a local and a global scale. As
we have seen, business aviation
movements in Lagos this year
experienced a year-on-year
growth rate of 12%; we consider
it of the utmost importance that
our MRO in Nigeria has the
services on-site to help maintain
this encouraging trend.
“With the support of
Rockwell Collins, we can now
serve our customers with more
competitive pricing and warranty
benefits. By collaborating with
established, first-class MRO
operators, we can also provide
cost-effective upgrades to current
avionics systems such as the
ADS-B Out products, which will
improve flight safety, situational
awareness and reliability.”Execujet obtains
Rockwell Collings
dealership in Lagos