IATA’s regional vice president Africa and Middle East, Kamil Al-Awadhi railed against Nigeria’s stance on blocked funds that could cripple African and other airlines and ultimately affect air travel to the West African powerhouse.
A Kenyan airline CEO has encouraged airlines in East Africa to think again about consolidation of national carriers to break down barriers to travel through the region.
“If we were to create a scorecard for ourselves, I don’t think [as] students we will be proud to take the scorecard back home,” said Aaron Munetsi, chief executive of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa, speaking during the AFRAA 55th Annual General Meeting and referring to Africa’s record to date on bringing in air transport liberalisation via the Single African Air Traffic Market (SAATM).
State-owned Ibom Air is making a name for itself in the African market as a strongly-run Nigerian airline that is growing profitably with Airbus A220s soon to enter the fleet.
Expectations for India must be tempered by its low GDP per capita and other hurdles to becoming a large player on the global stage. Some of the buzz is warranted.
Emirates and Boeing signed an agreement to partner on technologies for maintenance including drones, artificial intelligence, and augmented and virtual reality.
