The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) renewed its call on Friday, 5 November 2021, for full implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), warning that inconsistent adoption of open-skies commitments continued to depress intra-African connectivity and inflate fares.
AFRAA said that while more than 30 African states had formally signed on to SAATM, including Nigeria, only a fraction had translated the commitment into fifth-freedom traffic rights and reduced restrictions in practice, leaving many routes between African capitals dependent on connections through Europe or the Middle East.
Nigeria's Role in the Debate
Nigerian aviation officials at the AFRAA briefing said the country remained committed to SAATM but noted that reciprocal market access with some neighbouring states had been slow to materialise, a complaint echoed by carriers including Air Peace on several West African routes.
AFRAA's secretary general said the pandemic had further delayed liberalisation efforts as governments turned inward on aviation policy, and urged member states to use the sector's recovery period to accelerate rather than postpone SAATM's rollout.
