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Airbus, a global aerospace company, has identified Nairobi as one of Africa’s key underserved metropolitan routes.
In its latest report, Airbus has identified key underserved routes that would boost air travel on the continent, including Lagos, Cape Town, Dakar and Douala, noting that these routes could provide greater connectivity for travellers, while also stimulating economic growth in local economies, including increased revenues for airlines.
Geert Lemaire, Airbus Market Intelligence and Consulting Director, noted that despite the high traffic between certain city pairs, some of the identified routes still lack regular non-stop services.
“Factors such as restrictive bilateral air service agreements, economic variables and challenges in terms of capacity, frequency and operational cost efficiency contribute to the fact that these routes remain unserved,” said Lemaire, Airbus’ Market Intelligence and Consulting Director.
However, he stressed that the company remains committed to working with African airlines to develop optimised fleet solutions in line with network development objectives that would further support the growth of the continent’s aviation industry and increase travel connectivity.
“Airbus remains committed to working with airlines across Africa to identify optimised fleet solutions, as we are able to conduct in-house analyses of route and network development potential,” said Lemaire, Airbus’ Market Intelligence and Consulting Director.
The company has included statistics on Africa in its latest Global Market Forecast (GMF), which focuses on strategic recommendations to capitalise on the potential of a more connected continent.
The forecast data estimates that global air traffic will grow by 4.1 per cent over the next 20 years, resulting in a demand for 1,180 new aircraft by 2043.
In addition, the continued growth of Africa’s aviation sector is projected to lead to GDP growth of 3.3 per cent, which is higher than the global average of 2.6 per cent.
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