Why an integrated aviation ecosystem is crucial for Kenya, Africa's future

CEO Kenya Airways Allan Kilavuka address during KQ sponsorship of Safari Rally drivers ahead of world safari rally to be held in Naivasha, Kenya. June 9, 2021. [File, Standard]

Africa is disproportionately represented statistically, particularly in terms of social and economic progress. These metrics depict Africa as significantly underserved. For example, the percentage of global airline passengers in 2023 was only 2.9 per cent in Africa compared to 26 per cent in Europe and 46 per cent in the Middle East. To contextualise this, Africa's population is 18 per cent of the global population. The same can be said of the continent's share of cargo uplifted. It is a fraction of the global total.

Two important facts may help Africa and, specifically, Kenya improve this statistic. The first is that Africa needs to scale up its aviation assets to support growth in the continent. This entails significant increases in the sizes of airports, airlines and operators. The second is that aviation players need to work closer together in order for the ecosystem to function seamlessly. This way, more benefits are derived from a better-functioning ecosystem focusing solely on aviation users or customers.

The Aviation Transport Action Group produces an annual report demonstrating how the aviation industry supports the global economy by playing its vital connecting role. This report, also known as Aviation Benefits Beyond Borders, emphasises the need for African governments to place more premium on the aviation sector's role in helping them resolve the economic quagmire in which the continent finds itself. It is estimated that the aviation sector contributes about $75 billion to the GDP of African governments. However, it contributes $290 billion to the Middle East. So, what can we do differently to bring Africa up to par?

This brings me back to my earlier point: Our aviation sector needs to be scaled up because it is too small to bear the intended benefits. It is fragmented, with very little investment set aside for its growth. Nothing demonstrates fragmentation and inefficiency better than the number of commercial airlines in Africa. For a continent that commands less than 3  per cent of global air traffic, we have over 17  per cent of the world's commercial airlines domiciled in Africa.

Africa has 196 commercial airlines, more than North America, the Middle East and Latin America. The solution is simple: We must consolidate the continent's aviation assets, starting with its airlines. This lends credence to my trumpet call to get the Pan African airline group off the ground. For the record, all other continents and subcontinents have gone through this consolidation process. Africa, on the other hand, is fragmenting further.

The second immediate action that the industry needs is to ensure more collaborative working among key players. Take Kenya, for instance. Kenya Airways must work closely with its hub airport operator, Kenya Airports Authority. This global best practice reveals that airports and airlines are conjoined twins that cannot survive without each other. But this has not happened effectively in Kenya. It is definitely true that the growth of JKIA will not happen without that of Kenya Airways and vice versa. Such growth is easily demonstrated in jurisdictions with booming aviation sectors like Singapore and many countries in the Middle East, North America and Europe.

Third, government policy should be deliberate in supporting the aviation sector. Governments need to consciously place aviation at the centre of economic development blueprints. Aviation is seen as vital but not necessarily a critical catalyst for economic development. This flies in the face of well-documented and researched evidence that presents aviation as among the biggest catalysts for economic development globally.

Mr Kilavuka is the Group Managing Director and CEO of Kenya Airways