Qatar Airways boss identifies reasons for high cost of aviation in Africa

The high cost of operations in many countries of Africa coupled with decrepit infrastructure has been attributed to the high cost of aviation on the continent.

Equally of great disservice is the imposition of unnecessary taxes which have imposed a lot of hardship on carriers.

Qatar Airways Vice President (Africa), Hendrik du Preez while making the disclosure, explained that there was a need for close cooperation between governments and airlines which he described as critical to operating in the continent.

His words:“t is true that there is an infrastructure challenge in Africa. You have seen many countries that have built new airports, renovated new terminals to enable more airlines to operate in those. I think close cooperation between government and airlines is crucial to enable business thrive.

“Aviation is an economic enabler just by enabling trade, enabling business; that in itself drives economies. Safety is another key area that needs to be looked at that gives a lot of concerns globally about the safety of air travel in Africa and it is putting those concerns at risk by relevant regulatory authorities looking at the safety of operations, development of infrastructure.”

Hendrik reiterated that government needed to be able to support as well, by not making infrastructure to be costly by imposing unnecessary taxes just as he noted that the imposition of taxes directly hit travelers’ pockets, stressing that at the end of the day it defeats the essence of air travel.

“That sums it up. It is so expensive to operate to some destinations that it becomes unaffordable for travelers at the end of the day. I think it is a multitude of those things combined that would enhance or mar aviation in Africa,” he added.

Equally, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has identified weak and costly infrastructure, high ticket prices, poor intra-African connectivity, and proliferation of taxes and charges as factors that have retarded the growth of air transport in Africa.

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The clearinghouse also remarked that there was evidence that aviation in Africa had the potential to fuel trade and economic growth, but added that the aforementioned barriers were a great setback to the aviation sector in the continent.

Speaking on Qatar’s route expansion in Nigeria, Hendrik said the carrier launched 16 new destinations in Africa during COVID-19, hinting that Kano and Port-Harcourt would be the 7th and 8th destinations that they were launching during this

Stating that the carrier’s strategy was to expand its footprint not only in Nigeria but the continent, giving more opportunities for people to travel, Hendricks declared: “We want to see Africa as our own, making it more accessible for people and I think that is our strategy for Nigeria. There are different segments of people traveling. If you look at the need for people traveling from Kano, it is different from people traveling out of Port-Harcourt.

The traffic flows from the two of them are different. I think Port-Harcourt, it supports our network because a lot of energy companies that are operating down there are starting quickly ramping up the business and connecting to our network of 140 destinations”.