GLOBAL aerospace and aviation leader, Airbus, has released an analysis detailing several key unserved African routes, listing Lagos amongst top of the routes on the continent.
In its analysis, the aircraft manufacturing company said cities of Lagos, Cape Town, Nairobi, Dakar, and Douala are capable of providing greater connectivity for travellers, drive economic growth in local economies, and provide a significant boost in revenue for airlines.
Airbus while highlighting data on Africa from its latest Global Market Forecast (GMF), also touched on strategic recommendations to capitalise on the opportunities of a more connected continent as well as Airbus’ capabilities to help realise this potential.
Speaking on the development, Market Intelligence and Consulting Director, Airbus, Geert Lemaire remarked: “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.
“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 percent 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 percent real GDP growth on the continent, well above the 2.6 percent global average. This growth according to Airbus is ratified by data from its 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.
Read Also: ASUU: FG moves to avert strike, reopen talks
