ROUTES AFRICA: Aviation in Bamako – Africa’s Fastest Growing City

Bamako is the capital and largest city of the land-locked West African country of Mali, and currently estimated to be the fastest growing city in Africa (sixth fastest in the world). It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the Upper and Middle Niger Valleys, in the southwestern part of the country and is the nation's administrative centre, with a river port located in nearby Koulikoro and a major regional trade and conference centre.

As a land-locked country, Mali relies on its air transportation system to access other parts of the continent and the world and Bamako Sénou International Airport (IATA: BKO; ICAO: GABS) is the sole international gateway into the country. Opened in 1974 and located around 15km to the south of the city centre it is currently served by 14 airlines, which offer 108 weekly flights to 17 destinations. Just like the city of Bamako, it is growing rapidly with O&D passenger numbers rising to 681,029 in 2010. According to official statistics from operator Aéroports du Mali this O&D traffic is supplemented by a further 100,000 passengers per year that transit in Bamako and connect on to other destinations.

“Mali is prepared to play a more important role as a regional hub,” explained Aya Thiam Diallo, Président Directeur Général, Aeroports du Mali. “By increasing the length of our main runway this year, we will be in a position to receive an increased number of large aircraft. We anticipate successive increases in traffic in the coming year and we have put particular emphasis on facilitating passenger circulation in order to handle an increased number of new airlines that will be including us among their destinations, or as a point of transit.”

Its three largest markets by capacity are Dakar (20 flights per week by Air Burkina, Compagnie Aérienne du Mali, Kenya Airways and Senegal Airlines), Abidjan (11 flights per week by Compagnie Aérienne du Mali, Ethiopian Airlines and Senegal Airlines) and Ouagadougou (10 flights per week by Air Burkina, Compagnie Aérienne du Mali and Ethiopian Airlines).

The table above also illustrates the importance of key trade routes outside of Africa. Links are offered daily to Paris CDG by Air France, five times weekly to Paris Orly by Air Méditerranée and twice weekly to Barcelona by Spanair. The latter introduced its second weekly rotation from Barcelona on June 1, while TAP Portugal inaugurated a three times weekly connection from Lisbon on June 5, further expands its activities in Africa, a market where it boosted traffic by around 12 per cent last year to 602,000 passengers and is forecasting a further 13 per cent rise this year.

Further links to Europe will be added later this year when Brussels Airlines introduces a twice weekly link to Brussels from September 7. The carrier’s new flight will be operated by an Airbus A330-300 which will continue on to Accra, Ghana following its stop in Mali. It will be the first non-stop flight to the African country from Belgium since the country’s former national carrier Sabena ceased operations in 2001.

As the table above shows, Air France currently dominates the market with a 49.7 per cent share of the traffic between Europe and Mali, but has seen its penetration decrease over the past couple of years as other airlines have boosted their links to Mali. Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has seen its share of the market increase by 5.5 per cent in the last 12 months, while Air Algerie has seen a 3.8 per cent increase in traffic. Alongside the direct connections to Europe, Royal Air Maroc and Air Algerie provide links via their Casablanca and Algiers hubs, with nine and three weekly services, respectively.

To support the increasing demand Aéroports du Mali secured Government and International Bank of Mali investment in 2009 to expand the airport. A new freight facility was opened in March last year with a capacity to handle up to 10,000 tonnes of cargo and has the scope to increase its capacity by around 15 per cent in the future. A new 1.2 mppa terminal building is under construction, while extensions to the runway and taxiways are in progress.

Bamako is the seventh largest West African urban center after Lagos, Abidjan, Kano, Ibadan, Dakar and Accra and local manufacturing covers such products as textiles, processed meat, and metal goods, alongside commercial fishing on the Niger River. Given its strategic position, Bamako is also quickly absorbing interesting cultural and traditional customs from its neighbours, creating a unique and inspiring destination for the intrepid traveller.

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