The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has called for speedy implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision with regard to the liberalisation of access to air transport markets in Africa.

Speaking at a week-long event to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the Yamoussoukro Decision with the theme: ‘Africa wants to fly’, held in Abuja, Keyamo lamented that despite 34.7 per cent surge in passenger traffic recorded by African airlines over the past years, the continent’s global passenger market share remains modest at 2.1 per cent.

He stated that the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) is a no-brainer in giving impetus to not just intra Africa trade, tourism, but SAATM would also reduce the continent’s trade deficit by 51 per cent.

According to him, statistics from the Africa Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) has shown that 37 member States have so far subscribed to unconditionally implement the YD and SAATM, with 23 States signing the Memorandum of Implementation (MoI) for its operationalisation, saying records also shows that these 37 States account for more than 88 per cent of intra-African traffic and more than 800 million people in Africa.

Keyamo revealed that Nigeria has made a commitment to the full implementation of SAATM through the commitment to SAATM-Project Implementation Pilot (SAATM-PIP) as he has directed that all Bilateral Air Services Agreements (BASAs) with African Countries that are signatory to SAATM be reviewed in line with the provisions of Yamoussoukro Decision and the principles of reciprocity.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Musa Nuhu, in his remarks advocated for a single regulatory agency and a single policy for Africa as it’s experienced in Europe for more seamless operations.

“54 different countries and 54 different policies won’t work for SAATM, not even 50 years from now. Nigeria is committed to the full liberalisation of YD/SAATM.”

He revealed that Nigeria has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with AFCAC for tracking and monitoring the full implementation of YD/SAATM and it’s in the process of setting up a National Implementation Committee that would include various relevant stakeholders to enable further discussion that would facilitate the full implementation of YD/SAATM in Nigeria.