Air Transport in Africa Outlook - 2024

[Homo Aeroportus]

Dakar is again having problems with fuel.
A Notam was issued early today to advise airlines that fuel uptake is not guaranteed.

A1672/23 NOTAMN
Q) GOOO/QFUAU/IV/NBO/A/000/999/1440N01704W005
A) GOBD B) 2312300056 C) 2312302359 EST
E) DUE TO DISRUPTIONS IN THE SUPPLY OF JET A1 FUEL, ALL AIR OPERATORS
OPERATING TO BLAISE DIAGNE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND LEOPOLD SEDAR
SENGHOR AIRPORT ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE NECESSARY PROVISIONS TO CARRY
ENOUGH QUANTITY OF FUEL TO ENSURE AUTONOMY OF THEIR NEXT OPERATIONS
FROM THESE AIRPORTS FOLLOWING ARRIVAL.
CREATED: 30 Dec 2023 01:08:00
SOURCE: GOOOYNYX

SN operates SN201/202 today as a direct flight. A fuel stop seems inevitable for the return.

And of course if you operate out of GOBD/DSS, the name of the game is : no fuel, no flight.
Air Senegal had to cancel 7 flights today.

H.A.

[Homo Aeroportus]

Play it again, Sam.

GOOOYNYX
(A0009/24 NOTAMN
Q)GOOO/QFUAU/IV/NBO/A/000/999/1440N01704W 005
A)GOBD B)2024-01-03 10:40:00 C)2024-01-04 12:00:00 EST
E)DUE TO DISRUPTIONS IN THE SUPPLY OF JET A1 FUEL, ALL AIR OPERATORS
OPERATING TO BLAISE DIAGNE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AND LEOPOLD SEDAR
SENGHOR AIRPORT ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE NECESSARY PROVISIONS TO CARRY
ENOUGH QUANTITY OF FUEL TO ENSURE AUTONOMY OF THEIR NEXT OPERATIONS
FROM THESE AIRPORTS FOLLOWING ARRIVAL.)

H.A.

[rwandan-flyer]

And Air Senegal is already struggling due to technical glitch on their A330. They are currently leased aircaft

[rwandan-flyer]

Ethiopian Airlines has just obtained slots for a service to Warsaw. The Addis Ababa Warsaw route should be operated via Athens by B787, from July 2024.

Poland is the country in Europe with a small African diaspora as a percentage of its total population. But there are quite a few Africans who have obtained dual nationality (mainly first generations who came to Poland to study under the USSR regime). There are therefore Afro-Polish celebrities (Sportspeople, Journalists, Singers) who are originally from Africa.

https://www-lemonde-fr.translate.goog/a ... r_pto=wapp

There are also quite a few African students in Poland and many Poles go to East Africa, mainly to Tanzania and Kenya. The LOT hub, which is not bad, will enable to Ethiopian planes to be filled. Then Poland is trying to increase with Africa.

The English translation with the link does'nt work

Ethiopian will fly from Warsaw to Addis Ababa

Ethiopian Airlines will fly from Warsaw Chopin Airport to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This will be the first regular connection from Poland to this country.

We informed some time ago about Ethiopian Airlines' interest in launching a connection with Warsaw. These plans were confirmed in the report, the Ethiopian carrier received 135 slots for flights to Addis Ababa and, interestingly, 1 slot for flights to Athens. So there is a chance that the connection may be inaugurated soon and these were not just loud announcements. The report also shows that the flights would be operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliners carrying 270 passengers.

The information was confirmed to us by the PPL press office. The first cruises are scheduled to take place in July 2024. The exact frequency of the cruises is not yet known, but we will find out about them in the near future. According to PPL, details of the new connection will soon be available in the airline's booking system.

https://www.pasazer.com/news/464762/eth ... abeby.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
Qatar Airways is expected to launch a daily flight to Antananarivo from Doha from October 2024.

https://madagascar--tribune-com.transla ... r_pto=wapp
​

[luchtzak]

Let's make this a yearly topic!

Air Transport in Africa Outlook - 2019-2023

[rwandan-flyer]

An interesting podcast about African Aviation (I already talked about it). But this number seems particularly interesting. On one side we have South African companies which are taking advantage of the decline of South African Airways to continue to grow in Southern Africa.

Qatar Airways which is shaking up its program in Southern Africa a little. Durban will be served tagged via Maputo while the line to Luanda will increase to....1 flight per week!!

Ethiopian Airlines still growing very strongly, even if Nairobi is a victim of traffic agreements between Ethiopia and Kenya. ET still cannot add its 3rd daily frequency.

Our friends are not optimistic about Air Cote d'Ivoire's expansion project.

The big news is the possible arrival of China Southern in Ghana (for the moment it's a rumor stage).

A part of the podcast is an interview of the Kenya Airways network manager. The airline appears to be back on the path to growth. New York will increase from 7 to 9 flights per week this summer!! https://aviadevinsight.libsyn.com/277-t ... consultant

Welcome to the fifth edition of AviaDev Insight Africa’s Connectivity update, a podcast that offers insights into new route developments in Africa.

Hosted by Jon Howell, CEO and Founder of AviaDev Africa, this podcast covers new route developments and expansions in the aviation industry on the African continent.
In this episode, we discuss:

Ethiopian Airlines' Summer 24 schedule, which includes new destinations and increased frequencies. They also highlight the airline's focus on connecting Africa to the world, discussing Ethiopian Airlines' expansion plans, including the addition of Warsaw as a potential new destination.

FlySafair's new route from Cape Town to Kruger Mpumalanga

Cemair becomes the latest airline to serve the growing Johannesburg-Harare route

Airlink's new routes, including Bloomfontein-Durban and continued growth in Malawi

Qatar Airways changes to their Southern Africa schedule

Air Tanzania's new route to Dubai

Rumour Mill:

Air Cote d'Ivoire's fleet and expansion plans

Emirates' potential return to Nigeria

Air Peace's potential route to London

China Southern's possible flight to Accra.

Connect with Sean here

Connect with Behramjee here

Finally, if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with someone that you feel would benefit from listening and subscribe to never miss another episode

Some highlights text from Sean Mendis

* Flights to Mogadishu start from 15FEB24, marking KQ's return to Somalia - how quickly can this route grow from 3x weekly to twice daily?

* KQ will return to Maputo in June, a world exclusive announcement of the new route!

* Two more routes coming by the end of the year - one domestic and one in Southern Africa.

* Paris increases to 9x weekly due to the Olympics, but Schiphol drops to 5x weekly due to slots.

* HiFly Airbus 330 wetlease will continue through the summer, providing key extra capacity to Dubai and Johannesburg.

* The new Kenya visa policy cost them 6-8% of traffic from South Africa in January but that is recovering now that the system is being tweaked.

* Any plans for a mini-hub/focus city at Mombasa are shelved with flyDubai's entry into the market.

* The New York JFK route is now operationally profitable, thanks mainly to the Delta codeshare. The route becomes a daily flight this summer.

* The integration of the new Asante Miles program into SkyTeam is moving slowly but steadily. Priorities are AF/KLM (already done), Delta and Virgin Atlantic.

Listen to the full thing here for all the other information : https://bit.ly/48vFDkJ

[rwandan-flyer]

Once again Africa is on Air Asia X radar (after a first attempt in Mauritius )

Cairo, Mahe, Nairobi and Cape Town

https://newsroom.aviator.aero/airasia-r ... hip-visit/

Over 14 years ago Air Asia X was already looking to serve Africa https://www.reuters.com/article/airasia ... 220090819/

[rwandan-flyer]

In 2024, Passengers Traffic in Africa should reach 242 million passengers in 2024 (106% of 2019 ). But how many pax for Africans Airlines ?

ACI World Forecasts Passenger Traffic in Africa to Reach 261 Million in 2025

https://aviationbusinessjournal.aero/he ... n-in-2025/

[rwandan-flyer]

Ethiopian orders 8 B777x (alongside of its B777x F order). This is version 777-9. With the A350-1000 order, it is clear that the airline will replace its fleet of B777s (200LR and 300ER)

https://bnnbreaking.com/transportation/ ... -in-africa

[sn26567]

Ethiopian orders 8 B777x (alongside of its B777x F order). This is version 777-9. With the A350-1000 order, it is clear that the airline will replace its fleet of B777s (200LR and 300ER)

https://bnnbreaking.com/transportation/ ... -in-africa

It was also mentioned on this very website

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/ethi ... 777x-jets/

[rwandan-flyer]

According Times Aerospace (often they have godd sources about African, South Asia and Middle East Aviation), Air Mauritius plans to resume Brussels service

Air Mauritius reconquering its markets

Air Mauritius is capitalising on both regional and international growth in air traffic to strengthen its market share to and from the Indian Ocean island State

[....]

Air Mauritius has strengthened its London presence by increasing weekly frequencies from three to five, moving to London Gatwick to cut costs, while also resuming direct flights to Geneva. It is also looking at resuming flights to Munich, Milan, Rome and Brussels.


https://www.timesaerospace.aero/feature ... ts-markets

[Homo Aeroportus]

Per African Airlines Aviation Weekly Digest, Air Peace is to launch a new route between Lagos and London Gatwick, using a Boeing 787-9 wet leased from Norse Atlantic Airway.
The Nigerian carrier recently secured traffic rights and slots for the new London Gatwick route, which will join Air Peace’s network on March 30, marking its first European destination.

H.A.

[rwandan-flyer]

Welcome to the sixth edition of AviaDev Insight Africa’s Connectivity update, the podcast offering insight into the new route developments in Africa, hosted by Jon Howell, CEO and Founder of AviaDev Africa.

Text from Sean Mendis

This month, join Jon Howell, Tatenda Karuwa of Simple Flying, and myself for the monthly AviaDev Africa Insight podcast about route developments in African aviation.

Our topics this month include :

* Given Air Peace Limited's history of screwing up international routes, will London Gatwick be the exception or are they already looking for excuses?

* fastjet adds frequencies between Vic Falls and Kruger - are they reinventing themselves fast enough to handle competition in the SA-Zim market?

* ECOWAS lifts sanctions on Niger and ASKY AIRLINES rushes in with big plans - why is this small market so important?

* RwandAir Ltd pulls out of the Mumbai route - what has changed since they launched the route in 2017 and why does suspending it make sense now?

* Ethiopian Airlines surprises everyone with an order for up to 20 Boeing 777-9X aircraft out of the blue. We speculate on why this order may have been announced right now.

* Will Emirates be returning to Nigeria? Our monthly one-liner may actually have a different response this month!

All this and much much more - available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq-B5lXHZQ0

[rwandan-flyer]

AFRAA (African Airlines Association) has released its annual report (with 2022 and 2021 stats...)

Some additional information

RwandAir no longer appears since 2022 although it is a member of AFRAA for 2022: 1,037,025 passengers transported (https://www.minecofin.gov.rw/index.php? ... 62d9c3fa79, p14)

Same thing for Tunisair ((2,171,341 passengers carried in 2022 https://www-tustex-com.translate.goog/b ... r_pto=wapp)

For 2023, Cairo is now firmly established as Africa's busiest airport, with 26 million passengers. It will become the first African airport to exceed 30 million passengers. Johannesburg was far behind due to the troubles of South African Airways https://www.egypt-air-show.com/news/pas ... ports-2023

https://www.afraa.org/annual-reports/

[rwandan-flyer]

Kenya Airways posts first annual operating profit for seven years

Kenya Airways posted its first operating profit for seven years in 2023 off the back of a recovering passenger business, although a heavy currency exchange impact kept it loss-making at a net level.

The Kenyan flag carrier posted an operating profit of KSh10.5 billion ($78.8 million) for the year ended December 2023, against a loss of KSh5.6 billion in 2022 and marks the SkyTeam carrier’s first surplus since posting an operating profit of KSh1.5 billion in 2017.

https://www.flightglobal.com/airlines/k ... 27.article

[rwandan-flyer]

Uganda Airlines will take delivery of an A320Neo next month, under a wet lease agreement.

Harare, Guangzhou, Jeddah and Riyadh still in project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4JtVZt ... sionUganda

[rwandan-flyer]

Qatar Airways announces the launch of flights to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

Qatar Airways announces the latest expansion of its network to include Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), enabling greater frequencies and increased capacity to Luanda, Angola. https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/qata ... -of-congo/

Some reactions are surreal. Some Congolese are on the verge of boycotting Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways, which has not yet acquired the 49% stake in RwandAir, would be a Trojan horse to allow RwandAir to return to the DRC

I put Twitter link (translation is not possible, but if you have acces you can make copy and paste of text to google translator) https://twitter.com/search?q=rwandair&s ... ery&f=live


I explain the context, because it helps us understand these reactions.

Before the genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda and Zaire had good relations. Following the arrival of the FPR to power, Rwanda provided support to Lurent Dseiré Kabila to overthrow Mobutu. In exchange, Rwanda thought that the DRC was going to fight against the genocidal militias taking refuge in the DRC who were making incursions into Rwanda. This was not the case, Rwanda has launched its army which triggered the conflict which still continues in the East of the DRC (even if officially the Rwandan army would no longer be in the DRC) or other militias and sometimes other states are involved. You have also the ethnic groups problems in the background which are in the region since independence.

Some Congoelese are be careful for everything coming from Rwanda which can sometimes be justified but which sometimes goes beyond the limits (acts of violence). In this context, huge rumors are spread and the air sector is no exception. Some had spread rumors concerning ghosts RwandAir flights to Kinhsasa, while RwandAir had suspended its flights to FIH (the planes were landing in Brazzaville). Or others about the closure of airspace for RwandAir. A hard choice for DR Congo beacause if Rwanda does the same thing for Congolese aircraft it would force Congolese airlines to review procedures in Goma, because the planes are flying over Rwandan airspace during take off and landing

The strongest rumor was that about a RwandAir hub in Goma. Someone had shared an ad from RwandAir where we saw offers for passengers traveling from Goma via Kigali with RwandAir and some believed that RwandAir will launch a hub at Goma (No, RwandAir has not moved its hub to Goma https://congocheck-net.translate.goog/n ... _pto=wapp/).

So obviously, I doubt that what we see on social networks reflects what happens in real life, but it shows that some people have a slightly misplaced mind. Although I have been doing fact checking for almost 15 years for a French site, I am always surprised to see how gullible people can be, even if some (Congolese) sometimes try to tell others to stop broadcasting some false information ( it doesn't help us in our fight)

Anyway, I wish all the success for Qatar Airways in Kinshasa.