Twenty-three African countries have signed on to create the
Single African Air Transport Market, which will ease restrictions for carriers
to operate flights among those countries and enable them to lower fares for air
travel among them.
The agreement was framed by the Yamoussoukro Decision, an
agreement made nearly two decades ago to liberalize air access across Africa,
which has been beholden largely to a collection of bilateral agreements. IATA
VP for Africa Raphael Kuuchi said the agreement "has the potential for
remarkable transformation" for Africa's aviation industry by boosting
demand, increasing competition and making air travel more accessible.
"Today's decision is momentous," Kuuchi said.
"Now, it's time to get down to the work of implementation. Greater
connectivity will lead to greater prosperity."
Participating countries are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape
Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mali,
Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South
Africa, Swaziland, Togo and Zimbabwe.
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Source: Business Travel News