Rwanda’s aviation industry and the business community are upbeat following the signing of a deal that will lead to the liberalisation of the airspace by Northern Corridor states.

Under the agreement, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and South Sudan agreed to give regional airlines, like RwandAir and Kenya Airways, the fifth freedom of operating without limitation along the corridor. The agreement, which was reached during the 11th Northern Corridor summit in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday, is expected to be operationalised effective January 1, 2016.  The deal means the national carrier RwandAir, and Kenya Airways will ply the Entebbe-Nairobi-Entebbe and Entebbe-Kigali routes as local airlines.

Commenting on the agreement, Jean Paul Nyirubutama, the RwandAir acting chief executive officer, said the deal will unlock more business opportunities for the airline.

"East Africa is important for us in terms of business; we, therefore, welcome any initiative aimed at making the aviation industry more profitable and efficient,” Nyirubutama said.

He added that the agreement could enhance opportunities for the national carrier, saying it will also strengthen RwandAir’s footprint in the region and augment its capacity to contribute to the country’s growth.

He called for a special committee to be set up to track its implementation and progress.  Nyirubutama is also confident the deal will make the regional airline industry more competitive as it gives the bloc more leverage while negotiating with other parts of the continent and global partners.

The business community is hopeful the initiative will result into reduction of air transport fares which are said to be expensive compared to other trade blocs. Currently, flying from Kigali–Entebbe, Uganda costs between $229 (Rwf172,895) and $300, for the Kigali–Nairobi route, travellers part with between $249 (Rwf187,995) to $320 (Rwf241,600), while some airlines charge close to $400 (Rwf302,000).

Denis Karera, the East African Business Council (EABC) chairman, said high flight charges were eating into earnings of businesses, and affecting the ease of doing business in the region.

He is, however, hopeful that the initiative could lead to reduction in the cost of operations in the region, thanks to low flight charges.  

During the summit, the Heads of State were also not happy that a unified air transport system agreed on previously is yet to be fully implemented.

According to Business Daily online, the presidents in their joint communique ordered transport ministers to investigate why a decision by the bloc to streamline the pricing of air travel within member states was reversed.

"The summit noted that after the directive, a temporary reduction in air tickets for one destination was realised but has since been reversed with the fares sky-rocketing,” they said.

Commenting on the development, Vainney Kabera, the managing director of Freshpak Limited and exporter, said the deal could attract investments into the region, and improve service delivery of the EAC bloc in the aviation industry.

Other proposed deals

Under the deal, EAC states also proposed a Multilateral Air Services Agreement (MASA) to protect local airlines against competition from external airlines.

They also agreed to sign a Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASA) during the next summit in Kigali. In addition, agreements on search and rescue, as well as accident and incident investigation will be signed during the upcoming summit.

The four countries are also expected to start negotiations on air service agreements with foreign countries as one bloc.

Last year, the heads of State of Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, signed a memorandum of understanding, based on the principle of mutual benefit in regard to this particular agreement.

The agreement paves way for the establishment, implementation and operation of the Northern Corridor Airspace Block (NCAB).

 It is envisaged that such initiatives will enable member states to strengthen and streamline their navigation services and give East Africa quality air transport services.

In a related development, the fifth freedom for the Nairobi–Juba–Nairobi route is still being negotiated, according to Rwanda’s national co-ordinator for the Northern Corridor Infrastructure Products, Monique Mukaruliza.

Harmonising airspace among COMESA states

Rwanda is currently co-ordinating the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) airspace integration project. The project seeks to develop legal and institutional guidelines that will help establish a regional framework for a single seamless airspace a cross the COMESA region.