Airline CEOs discussed a renewed impetus for the liberalization of African skies while meeting in Brazzaville, Congo, last week for the 47th general assembly of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA). Major African airline CEOs deliberated the much-delayed Yamasukuro Declaration (YD), an initiative to establish a single air transport market by avoiding restrictive bilateral air service agreements.  

During theforum, moderator Girma Wake, board chairman of RwandAir, asked executives how African airlines can collaboratively take control of the liberalization process for sustainable growth and development.

Edmund Makona, CEO of Air Zimbabwe, said that most everybody in the value chain continues to profit except airlines, whose margins average roughly 3 percent. “Are we not killing the goose that lays the golden egg?” he asked rhetorically. “It is important that we focus on the involvement of the airlines in the implementation of the YD.”

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam argued that airlines should move freely from point to point within Africa. Gebremariam said that the African Union should adopt a community clause—similar to that in the European Union—that enables Africa to negotiate as a block. “Liberalization is a big step but that is not enough,” he said. “Infrastructure cost, fuel cost, navigation cost and ground handling cost have to be reasonable.”

Fatima Beyina-Moussa, chief executive of ECAir, said that her airline will cooperate with other African airlines if the YD gets fully implemented. Fatima revealed her plan to establish mini hubs in different African countries making use of the YD.

Meanwhile, the new CEO of Egypt Air, Sherif Fatih, surprised the forum when he said his network development team and consultant told him that his airline would derive no benefit from the declaration. Egypt is one of the eleven African states that last January expressed firm commitment to fully implement the YD at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa. “The consulting firm we hired to consult us on restructuring Egypt Air and our network development team told me that there is nothing in it for Egypt Air,” Fatih said.

African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) secretary general Iyabo Sosina challenged Fatih. “Egypt Air is flying to a number of destinations in Africa on the basis of the YD,” she said. “If there is nothing in it for Egypt Air then why are they using the YD to go to all these points in Africa?”

Fatih did not dispute Sosina’s assessment. “Do not challenge me because I myself am challenging my people,” he said. “Please do not talk about emotions. I am talking about revenue. My people were not talking about their beliefs, hopes and all those nice things. What they presented to me is based on facts and figures.”

RwadAir’s Wake warned that an airline that wants to fly alone gets nowhere. “All airlines small or big should be prepared for the African market liberalization,” he said. “Those who are not preparing themselves for the market liberalization will die a natural death.”

Citing a study conducted by IATA, Makona said that if only 12 African countries liberalize their market they could create 155,000 jobs, carry another 5 million passengers and contribute $1.3 billion to the continent’s GDP. “Africa has a low load factor of 61 percent. Imagine what would happen when you give the additional five million passengers to the airlines which have 61 percent load factors. We must see the value of liberalization.”

Air Zimbabwe’s Makona stressed the need for a broad conviction to liberalize the market. “There must be a need for all of us to work together and appreciate the value in each of us,” he said. “In a collaborative approach we can do more. Big airlines and small airlines need to collaborate and change the situation to a win-win situation. The starting point is the conviction that we have to work together.”