AFCAC Secretary-General Adefunke Adeyemi
African Ministers have adopted the Lomé Declaration and Implementation Matrix, reaffirming a commitment to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) to advance accessible, connected, affordable and sustainable air transport across Africa.
The declaration was adopted during the African Air Transport Convention and Expo 2026 on June 16, organized by the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and hosted by the Government of Togo, the SAATM “Champion State,” as designated by the African Union in 2018.
In a video posted on LinkedIn, AFCAC Secretary-General Adefunke Adeyemi described the occasion as “historic.”
“Africa isn’t just talking about a single sky anymore—it’s clearing the runway for a continental takeoff where integration is the fuel and connectivity is the destination. This is how you turn speeches into actual flight plans,” she said. “This is the kind of alignment that stops being policy on paper and starts feeling like a new travel reality—where African cities finally talk to each other without detours through the rest of the world.”
Togo’s President Faure Gnassingbé said, “The single African sky must move from political commitment to operational reality. Integration becomes real only when it produces concrete effects: better-connected cities, more routes, lower costs and smoother exchanges.”
Ministers reaffirmed that air transport is a strategic enabler of continental integration, trade, tourism and investment, emphasizing the urgent need to move from political commitment to measurable implementation. They committed to accelerating SAATM at national, regional and continental levels—removing market-access barriers, liberalizing air services and improving administrative predictability for airlines.
A major outcome is the launch of the AFCAC Solidarity Commitment 2026–2028, a resource mobilization initiative to strengthen AFCAC’s capacity and accelerate SAATM implementation through financial resources, technical assistance and capacity-building.
Ministers also acknowledged that high aviation taxes, fees and charges increase travel costs and suppress demand. They endorsed a Continental Harmonized Policy Framework on Aviation Taxes, Charges and Fees, committing to rationalize excessive charges and improve transparency. They also called for investment in modern, climate-resilient aviation infrastructure and committed to developing air cargo corridors aligned with African Continental Free Trade Area value chains.
On sustainability, Ministers committed to supporting Africa’s participation in sustainable aviation fuels and cleaner energy solutions. The Declaration also emphasizes digital transformation, human capital development and greater participation by women and youth in the aviation sector.
To date, 35 African nations have joined SAATM, representing more than 80% of the continent’s existing aviation market. An IATA survey suggests that if just 12 key African countries opened their markets, an additional 155,000 jobs and $1.3 billion in annual GDP would be created.
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