Africa’s aviation industry is expected to maintain its growth trend because of an increasing number of Africans who can now afford to pay for the cost of air travel and the ongoing aviation reforms that are attracting more private sector players, aviation industry experts said. "Affordability of air travel is one of the key drivers of aviation industry growth in the continent. As a result, we are seeing more airlines replacing their ageing fleet of aircraft,” said Nick Fadugba, the CEO of Africa Aviation, an industry consulting company, and former secretary general of the African Airlines Association. He was speaking in Nairobi on Wednesday during the second annual conference for Africa’s aviation industry on maintenance, repair and overhaul. He said the growing alliance of African airlines with their counterparts from other parts of the world will also be a major factor driving growth of the local industry. The alliances have helped African airlines access new long haul routes, benefit from skills exchange and gain from the economies of scale. The expansion of the aviation industry is also driven by the continent’s growing economies that have led to rising incomes and increase in the volume of cargo being imported or exported. He said the regional integration is also knocking down trade barriers, offering opportunities for airlines to increase their intra-Africa flights. There has also been marked increase in the number of leased aircraft as well as a higher number of airlines from the continent offering long haul flights to Europe, United States and China.