South Africa is one of 17 African countries that have set in motion the long-awaited Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) that aims to consolidate the aviation market at continental level.
The other countries are Senegal, Togo, Zambia, Niger, Gabon, Namibia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Mozambique, and Namibia.These are a slight majority of 35 African countries which are signatories to the SAATM.
The 17 countries agreed on this pilot project at the commemoration of the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision day (YD Day) at the National, Regional and Continental levels meeting in Dakar, Senegal, on 14 November.
According to the African Union (AU), the YD Day “entered into force in 2000 following its endorsement by Heads of State and Government of the African Union for the liberalisation of scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services within Africa and with an overall aim of removing restrictions on traffic rights, capacity, and frequency between city pairs.”
The SAATM the AU said is within the context of the continent’s Agenda 2063.
“Africa’s time has come. The full implementation of the YD and the operationalisation of the SAATM at the continental level should not be delayed any longer. The benefits for the continent are undeniable,” said Victoire Sidémého Dzidudu, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Togo.
