Africa to be fastest growing region in aviation

According to projections from the International Air Transport Association, the African continent will become one of the fastest growing aviation regions within the next 20 years, with an average annual expansion rate of almost 5 per cent.

Currently, there are 731 airports and 419 airlines on the continent, with the aviation sector supporting around seven million jobs and generating $80 billion (Sh8 trillion) in economic activity.

This vast aviation potential will be further explored at a conference next week, dubbed Connect Middle East, India and Africa that will take place at the same time with the Arabian Travel Market 2019 at Dubai World Trade Centre.

In terms of passenger numbers, 47 million passengers departed from Africa’s top five airports, which included Cairo, Addis Ababa and Marrakesh in 2018, according to the latest Anker report.