Is Africa the Next Big Growth Region in Aviation?

Photo by Delano Ramdas on Unsplash

Some airlines like Delta are adding international flights to Africa. These carriers specifically see a huge opportunity in flights to South Africa, but a globalized world will see other countries on the continent eventually becoming travel destinations as well.

Before commercial airline pilots will be making international flights from North America to Africa, however, there must be new plans to improve the aviation industry.

Enter Focus Africa.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has a new Focus Africa initiative to reduce aviation accidents and other problems.

The IATA’s safety program is called the Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Program (CASIP), and the organization has several partners in the program:

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

• Boeing

• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO),

• African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC)

• Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA)

Efforts to improve safety will include the enforcement of ICAO’s standards and practices.

More Aviation in Africa

The safety initiative is part of the larger effort of IATA to open up the continent for more aviation in general. IATA has notably backed a Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). 34 African countries, representing 80% of the aviation market, have signed onto the SAATM.

By connecting each African country, the country stands to make big strides in socio-economics on a global scale.