African carriers press governments for firm SAATM timelines

Airline executives meeting in Nairobi said the Single African Air Transport Market has been signed but is not yet delivering. They called on governments and civil aviation authorities to set firm dates for putting it into practice. RwandAir chief executive Yvonne Makolo told an airlines session that the industry needed to stop at signing and talking, and instead attach a clock to implementation, with deadlines followed by delivery.

The Aviation Africa Summit ran at the Sarit Expo Centre on September 9 and 10, 2026, under the theme "Breaking the Mould". It drew roughly 2,500 delegates from over 100 countries, among them representatives of 135 airlines and operators.

Demand is not the problem, delegates heard. Seat capacity across the continent rose 8.8% year on year in August 2026, according to AFRAA, and capacity within Africa rose 10.5%. Revenue passenger kilometres increased 5.8% in July. IATA recorded 7.8% growth in African airline traffic in 2025 and expects a further 6% in 2026, above the global forecast of 4.9%.

Profitability tells a different story. IATA expects African carriers to post a combined net profit of $200 million in 2026, a margin of about 1%, or $1.30 per passenger against a worldwide average of $7.90. AFRAA data from June 2026 put African operators' share of intercontinental traffic to and from the continent at 36.7%.

SAATM now counts 38 African Union member states, covering more than 80% of intra-African traffic, according to ICAO. Governments adopted the Lomé Ministerial Declaration in June 2026 to speed up implementation. ICAO reported that intra-African connectivity has risen from 14.5% to 23%.