Iata and the African Airlines Association (Afraa) have announced that Afraa is to join Iata’s Focus Africa initiative – a collaboration that is expected to lend more strength to the initiative.

Focus Africa aims to maximise the contribution of aviation to development across the continent by improving passenger and freight services. The public and private stakeholders in the initiative are committed to delivering noticeable improvements in six essential areas – safety, infrastructure, connectivity, finance and distribution, sustainability and skills development.

The two bodies are enhancing their collaboration by renewing a joint work programme that includes:

• Promoting regional air connectivity by collaborating with governments to support the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). This work aims to see the 23 SAATM countries approve the agreement and encourage more countries to join SAATM.
• Liberating airline funds blocked by governments by advising governments on the best practices to clear backlogs. Since 2018, a significant amount of blocked funds has been repatriated from Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe by working with the respective governments. Currently $1.5 billion in airline funds remain blocked across the continent.
• Improving operational safety through a data-driven, collaborative programme to reduce safety incidents and accidents. This includes improving data sharing, prioritising the accurate communication of aeronautical information, timely reporting, and promoting Iata safety auditing programmes, including the Iata Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) and Iata Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA). This effort will focus on encouraging governments to adopt the use of IOSA and ISSA in their safety oversight programmes.
• Achieving reasonable levels of taxation and charges on the continent by educating governments on the long-term social and economic benefits of aviation. User charges across the continent are 8% higher than the industry average. Infrastructure charges must be set at levels that are fair, justified, and reflective of a value-service proposition for airlines and passengers.
• Supporting compliance with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). CORSIA currently has 25 African countries ready to participate in its initial carbon emissions data capturing and reporting phase, which is essential to the commitment to achieve nett zero carbon emissions by 2050 agreed to by the industry and governments

Kamil Al Awadhi, Iata’s Regional VP for Africa and the Middle East, said: "Afraa strengthens the Focus Africa coalition as we work to increase aviation’s role in Africa’s development. This has enormous promise. The continent is home to the world’s most rapidly growing population but accounts for just 2% of air passenger and cargo transport activity. The road to realising aviation’s potential will be long. But with the strong partnerships committed to Focus Africa, we can, and we will realise the needed change.”