Air Transport Contributes 6.2m Jobs, $55.8bn to Africa’s GDP, Says ICAO President
Kasim Sumaina
President of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council, Dr. Bernard Aliu, yesterday disclosed that African aviation industry is one of the fastest growing sector, and currently supports 6.2 million jobs and contributes $55.8 billion to Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Aliu stated this at the 50th anniversary celebration of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) in Dakar, Senegal.
The ICAO president in a statement by the Director Public Affairs, Federal Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, stated that in Africa today, air transport supports 6.2 million jobs and $55.8 billion in GDP, and that the African aviation market is one of the world’s most promising in terms of its overall growth potential, “due largely to your emerging industrial sectors and steadily increasing population figures.”
According to him, “In accordance with ICAO’s long-term traffic forecasts, passenger traffic for the Africa region is expected to grow by 4.3 per cent annually up to 2045, while freight traffic should also expand faster than world average at 3.9 per cent annually over the same period.”
He noted that these increases should see aviation-related employment in Africa increase to roughly 9.8 million jobs by 2036, as well as its air transport GDP impacting almost to $159 billion over the same period.
Aliu said: “Certainly, these trends underscore the tremendous potential of well-managed and ICAO-compliant air transport growth to lift this continent into a new era of promise and prosperity.
“Air connectivity is a unique and indispensable catalyst for socio-economic growth, and one which facilitates mobility and contributes to the development of trade, tourism, and services both within Africa and between it and the world.
“The direct route air transport which establishes between international destinations and markets has been recognised for its critical contributions to state achievement of the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in addition to the implementation of the African Union Agenda 2063.”
The ICAO president, however, observed that “we must also recognise and act upon the fact that the current status of connectivity on this continent is still sub-optimal, and therefore, hindering the realisation of the aviation benefits now awaiting African societies.”