The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged African governments to pursue a comprehensive aviation strategy focused on safety, cost-competitiveness, energy security and sustainability, and ease of doing business.
This is expected to stimulate economic and social development, creating jobs, enabling trade, supporting tourism, and furthering regional integration.
Kamil Alawadhi, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, said the prosperity generated will allow governments to push forward social and economic development more durably than any tax that might be collected from travellers.
While IATA acknowledged Africa’s progress made in aviation safety, demonstrated by the accident rate falling from 12.13 to 7.86 per million sectors, the figure remains above the global average of 1.32.
To address this, IATA highlighted the Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Programme (CASIP). This is designed to increase the implementation of International Civil Aviation Organisation Standards and Recommended Practices, since the average implementation across 46 of 48 Sub-Saharan African countries stands at 60.34%, compared with the global average of 69.46% and the global target of 75%.
The Association urged for greater accident reporting, noting that between 2019 and 2023, only 19% of accident reports were completed, compared to the average of 63%. The continent is also encouraged to leverage global safety audits as greater use of IOSA, ISSA, and ISAGO can strengthen airline safety performance, support effective regulatory oversight, and promote a consistent, risk-based approach to operational safety.
The high cost of doing business in aviation in Africa was further highlighted as a barrier to the industry’s growth. IATA suggested increasing advance passenger information and passenger name record charges, implementing the Economic Community of West African States December 2025 decision to eliminate aviation taxes and reduce select charges by 25%, and preserving residence-based corporate taxation of airlines.
IATA noted that while treaties and bilateral agreements stipulate the right of airlines to repatriate revenues earned across their networks, governments’ failure to comply with these obligations results in funds being blocked. According to the Association, African countries account for the largest proportion of blocked funds, with a total of US$774 million blocked by the end of March.
The continent is encouraged to reduce visa burdens since nearly half of intra-African travel still requires visas before departure, suppressing regional mobility, tourism, and economic integration.
IATA emphasised that Africa is well-positioned to gain from the recent disruptions to the global energy supply, particularly the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). According to IATA’s Global Feedstock Assessment, sub-Saharan Africa could supply 106 million tonnes of SAF suitable feedstock by 2050, largely from agricultural residues, forestry waste, and municipal solid waste.
By supporting the CORSIA and making Eligible Emission Units (EEUs) available, the continent has the potential to make some 57.6 million EEUs available to airlines that need them to fulfil their CORSIA obligations.
