Africa Aviation: Open skies delays weigh down the cost of continental trade

Context: Launched by the African Union in January 2018, the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) was intended to liberalize the continent's skies. Nearly eight years later, its partial implementation is resurfacing as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) faces high costs for air transport of goods and people. Facts and Quotes: According to Capital FM (Nairobi), African governments and aviation officials are calling for an acceleration of open skies policies, denouncing market fragmentation that drives up business costs and limits the expected benefits of AfCFTA. The dispatch provides no precise figures, deadlines, or names of speakers. Why: fragmented markets, scarce flights, high fares, connections via Europe or the Gulf: intra-African trade pays the price, contradicting the very objective of AfCFTA. Analysis: this gap between continental ambitions and national reforms reveals a structural problem: each state protects its interests (national airlines, taxes, bilateral traffic rights). The success of AfCFTA will depend on the removal of these non-tariff barriers. Open question, unresolved by the source: which specific actors are driving this relaunch and on what schedule?