Airport security in Africa a concern for IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is “not quite satisfied” with the levels of security at airports in Africa, the airline body’s regional vicepresident for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Alawadhi, told Business Day in Geneva on Thursday.
On the sidelines of IATA’s annual Global Media Day, he responded to a question about whether IATA is satisfied that African countries are investing enough in their security capabilities, for example to combat threats to aviation, smuggling and illegal product trafficking.
“We want to set standards in terms of security,” said Alawadhi. “It is a big part of IATA’s Focus Africa initiative.”
IATA’s collaborative Focus Africa initiative, launched in June 2023, prioritises several areas: safety, infrastructure, connectivity, finance and distribution, and sustainability and future skills.
For example, in terms of aviation safety in Africa, IATA wants to improve operations with a data-driven collaborative programme to reduce safety incidents and accidents in the air and on the ground.
The connectivity aspect involves promoting the liberalisation of intra-Africa market access.
As for skills development, Alawadhi pointed out that Africa has a lot of potential for the development of the youth in the aviation industry.
It is not just aviation security in Africa which is of concern. The continent is also the worst performing in terms of aviation safety.
“There is still a lot to be done and it requires engagement by IATA with a lot of partners to move towards a safer aviation industry in Africa. There were improvements in 2022 but still not enough,” he said.
“Africa must reach the same standards as the rest of the world.”
He discussed various challenges facing airlines operating in Africa. One of these is the effect of high inflation in a number of African countries, coupled with fuel prices which have risen from the lower levels they reached in the second quarter of the year.
The profitability of airlines in Africa remains poor and there are still millions of dollars of funds due to airlines blocked by some African countries. The biggest culprits are Nigeria ($792m), Egypt ($348m) and Algeria ($199m). Furthermore, aviation charges and fees imposed on airlines in Africa are often higher than in the rest of the world, putting local airlines at a disadvantage.
On the positive side, passenger load factors on the continent have exceeded pre-pandemic 2019 levels Africa is even outperforming on a global level in this regard. Demand for international travel has been particularly strong.