Airbus, a giant in the aerospace industry, has set its sights on boosting air travel in Africa. Their recent analysis pinpoints several key routes currently lacking direct flights, highlighting the potential for increased connectivity, economic growth, and airline profits.
The study, based on data from Airbus’ latest Global Market Forecast, identified major African cities like Lagos, Cape Town, Nairobi, Dakar, and Douala as hubs with underserved connections.
Airbus not only identified the opportunity but also offered strategic recommendations to capitalize on a more connected Africa. They even hinted at their own capabilities to help airlines and countries realize this potential.
“Despite significant traffic between certain city-pairs, some identified routes still lack regularly scheduled non-stop flights. Factors such as restrictive bilateral air service agreements, economic variables, and challenges with capacity, frequency and operating cost efficiency contribute to these routes remaining unserved,” said Geert Lemaire, Market Intelligence and Consulting Director, Airbus. “With our capacity to make analyses about route and network development potential in-house, Airbus remains committed to partnering with airlines across Africa to identify optimised fleet solutions inline with network development requirements that further stimulate the continent’s air transport industry growth and improve connectivity for travellers.”
The forecast, meanwhile, predicts a 4.1% growth overall in air traffic over the next 20 years, resulting in an anticipated need for 1 180 new aircraft by 2043. Meanwhile, the continued growth of the aviation sector in Africa is expected to result in 3.3% real GDP growth on the continent, well above the 2.6% global average.
This growth is ratified by data from Airbus’ Global Services Forecast, which estimates that Africa will need to introduce 15 000 more pilots, 20 000 technicians and 24 000 cabin crew to meet the surge in air travel demand.
To learn more about the untapped opportunities in Africa’s aviation sector, we invite you to read Airbus’ latest analysis on unserved routes here.
