The African Union is seeking support for the entry of low-cost air carriers in order to spur intra-Africa travel, officials have said.

 Amani Abou Zeid, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism, told journalists in Nairobi, that the cost of air travel within the continent remains high partly due to lack of a liberalised air transport sector. 

"We are therefore proposing a Continental Tourism Strategy that seeks to promote liberalisation of air sector in Africa. One of the consequences of the open air skies in Africa is that it will allow dynamic, private and agile low-cost carriers to operate in Africa with a view of promoting intra-Africa travel,” Zeid said during the first meeting of the Sub-Committee on Tourism of the Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Transcontinental and Inter regional Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism. 

 Zeid said the Continental Tourism Strategy should be signed by the African heads of state in mid 2019 and thereafter AU member states will domesticate the policy. She added that a competitive aviation sector will help to boost the tourism sector in the continent. 

She noted that currently about 80 per cent of all air traffic over Africa is by non-African airlines.  She observed that the AU has made various strides to improve the tourism sector including the promotion of the single Africa air transport market and the African Continental Free Trade Area that seeks to promote duty free flow of goods and services.

 The AU official said that the continent is keen to make the aviation sector dynamic by opening up it up for competition. 

 Najib Balala, the cabinet secretary in Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, said Africa’s aviation sector is performing below its potential due to a number of bottlenecks. 

 Balala called for further relaxation of immigration laws across the continent to allow for African nationals to travel in the region without the requirement of visas.  He said most African states have adopted protective trade policies in respect of air travel in order to protect their national air carriers. "We can borrow the example of Europe where low cost carriers complement the role of national carriers in transporting passengers,” he added.

Xinhua