Namibia would see significant economic benefits if the country, along with some other African States, implemented the Yamoussoukro Decision on liberalising intra-African air transport. So concludes a report by independent economics consultancy InterVISTAS, commissioned by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) and recently presented to Namibian Works and Transport Minister Alpheus !Naruseb.

The study found that such air transport liberalisation would create 10 600 new jobs in the country and increase Namibia’s gross domestic product by $94.2-million, or 0.56%, a year. “This report demonstrates beyond doubt the tremendous potential for Namibia if the shackles on aviation are taken off,” affirmed Iata vice-president for Africa Raphael Kuuchi. “But for the full benefits to be realised, Namibia should work to encourage all African States to embrace the Yamoussoukro agenda. “A potential five-million passengers a year are being denied the chance to travel within Africa because of unnecessary restrictions on establishing air routes.”

In Namibia’s case, such liberalisation would increase the country’s air passenger movements from 577 800 in 2013 to 1 107 200, representing a rise of 92%, within two or three years. Most of this increase would be on routes to and from Angola and South Africa. These figures and the others referred to come from a recent wider report by InterVISTAS, which looked at the economic impact of the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision by just 12 African countries, namely Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia and Uganda.

Early this year, 11 African countries announced that they would implement the Yamoussoukro Decision between themselves. They are Benin, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Morocco soon added its name to the list, which consequently includes all the major aviation countries on the continent. Of the countries on the InterVISTAS survey list, Algeria, Angola, Ghana, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda are not on the list of the States that have decided to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision.

“Employment and economic growth are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the benefit of connectivity – aviation plays a major role in helping to fulfil the African Union’s mission of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa,” he highlighted. If the 12 countries on the survey list implemented the Decision, it would result in a 25% to 37% drop in air fares, causing air passenger traffic to rise by 4.9-million from 6.1-million today to 11-million within 24 to 36 months – an increase of 81%.

The lack of air traffic liberalisation across the continent is also harming African carriers. “African airlines are expected to return a profit of just $100-million in 2015, on a net profit margin of 0.8%, the thinnest of all aviation regions,” points out Kuuchi. “While other regions are experiencing robust growth this year, demand for air travel within the regulatory-constrained intra-African market is only expected to grow by 3.2% this year. “Smarter regulation, giving African carriers greater access to all intra-African markets, would stimulate competition and with it demand for travel as businesses and traders would be able to expand into those markets. The net result is much stronger growth not only for the airlines but also for the economies of those countries that embrace the ‘open skies’ framework.”

Namibia has a State-owned national flag carrier, Air Namibia, which has a fleet of ten jet aircraft – two Airbus A330-200 wide-body airliners, four Airbus A319-100 narrow-body airliners and four Embraer ERJ135 regional airliners. The A330s are used on routes to Germany (Frankfurt) and Angola (Luanda). The A319s and ERJ135s are used on international routes to Angola (Luanda), Botswana (Maun), Ghana (Accra), South Africa (Cape Town and Johannesburg), Zambia (Lusaka) and Zimbabwe (Harare and Victoria Falls). The ERJ135s are also used on purely domestic routes.