AVIATION INDUSTRY

IATA DG: Govts shouldn"™t use airports"™ privatisation to raise fund

Alexandre de Juniac is a Frenchbusinessman. He previously served as the Chair and CEO of Air France (2011-2013) and later as CEO of Air France"“KLM (2013-2016). He is also the current Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). He spoke to WOLE SHADARE at the just-concluded IATA AGM in Sydney, Australia on issues affecting aviation, including the good news that Nigeria had cleared $600 million airline"™ blocked funds, among other issues. Excerpts.

What do you see as trends and challenges for African aviation?

The implementation of Air Traffic Management is one of them. The second is to maintain the safety at the level they have reached. The third one is to be able to structure some solid regional airlines in some parts of the continent such as West Africa and Central Africa. These should be important. We have one or two of our staff that are key members and are trying to consolidate their position. It is important for Africa to modernise its airports. We have some issues in terms of infrastructure that are not sorted out.

There is need for improvement in Nigeria, Egypt and so on. The opportunities for aviation are great, but so are the challenges. Many carriers struggle to break-even. Some challenges are beyond our control "” the appreciation of the US dollar for example. But governments should be aware that Africa is a high-cost place for aviation.

Taxes, fuel and infrastructure charges are higher than the global average. Additionally, insufficient safety oversight, failures to follow global standards and restrictive air service agreements could all add to the burden that stands in the way of aviation"™s economic and social benefits.

Countries are making efforts to have their national airlines; do you in any way support it?
For us, we do not advocate or not in favour of national airlines. In IATA, we say Africa needs connectivity. Africa needs to have what I call regional airlines. Big regions in Africa are not covered.

In some cases, you may need to first go to Europe to be able to connect another African country. That is very important. From my point of view, it is something lacking in Africa. In West Africa for instance, it is quicker to move to Paris than to move from one African country to another. It is not totally normal.

Airlines in Africa are small and fragmented, what is IATA doing to assist African airlines?
For the small airlines in Africa, we do assist. First of all, we have them in safety through IOSA audit. We do consulting on some specific areas. Two areas, which IATA will invest heavily, are training and consulting.

Airline"™ trapped funds. How much are these trapped funds?
We in IATA call on governments to abide by international agreements and treaty obligations to enable airlines repatriate revenues from ticket sales and other activities. The amount of airline funds blocked from repatriation totalled $44.9 billion at the end of 2017, which was down seven per cent compared to year-end 2016. However, airline funds remained blocked in some 16 countries. In Nigeria, it is cleared.

The connectivity provided by aviation is vital to economic growth and development. Aviation supports jobs and trades and helps people to lead better lives. But airlines need to have confidence that they will be able to repatriate their revenues in order to bring these benefits to markets…

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