KAWA MULTIMEDIA PUBLICATIONS
Problems facing air transport in Africa
There are many factors affecting air transport in Africa.
The low standard of living in the majority of African countries makes it impossible for most people to use air transport as a means of travel As a result, it is only tourists and wealthy businessmen and at times government officials who can afford to travel by air. Maintenance, fuel and general care of aeroplanes and airports are very expensive. The costs are much higher than what they get from the passengers if they do not operate full-capacity flights. This is very taxing on most African economies which are generally unstable.
Airspace also poses a problem to air transport. This arises from the fact that most countries impose heavy taxes in the form of fees for landing and flying rights to foreign aeroplanes.
Most African countries have not modernized their terminals mainly due to financial problems. This means that passengers are usually delayed at the terminals due to poor management of departure and arrival schedules. Most of them have poor services and a small maintenance crew. Large aeroplanes, therefore, usually ignore these air terminals and land in modernized airports. These terminals eventually go bankrupt and close up.
Other means of transport which are much cheaper than air transport also discourage its use. Many people prefer to travel by road, rail or water transport because it is cheaper.
Freight traffic amongst African countries is very limited because there are not many goods transported by air. Most of Africa's airfreighted goods consist of horticultural produce which is exported to Europe during the winter season. There is very limited inter-Africa freight traffic because most of the countries produce similar commodities. Besides, most imported goods are non-perishable and are therefore transported by rail or road.
Another problem which air transport in Africa faces, though minor, is weather. Tropical storms occur when die sun is overhead due to pressure changes in the atmosphere. They delay the departure or landing of aircraft caught up in it due to poor visibility.
However, even with all these problems, air transport is vital to some countries. South Africa, for example, relies on air transport to export its gold and diamonds. Zambia also airfreighted her oil inland after hostile incidents with Zimbabwe who are their link to the coast.
The low standard of living in the majority of African countries makes it impossible for most people to use air transport as a means of travel As a result, it is only tourists and wealthy businessmen and at times government officials who can afford to travel by air. Maintenance, fuel and general care of aeroplanes and airports are very expensive. The costs are much higher than what they get from the passengers if they do not operate full-capacity flights. This is very taxing on most African economies which are generally unstable.
Airspace also poses a problem to air transport. This arises from the fact that most countries impose heavy taxes in the form of fees for landing and flying rights to foreign aeroplanes.
Most African countries have not modernized their terminals mainly due to financial problems. This means that passengers are usually delayed at the terminals due to poor management of departure and arrival schedules. Most of them have poor services and a small maintenance crew. Large aeroplanes, therefore, usually ignore these air terminals and land in modernized airports. These terminals eventually go bankrupt and close up.
Other means of transport which are much cheaper than air transport also discourage its use. Many people prefer to travel by road, rail or water transport because it is cheaper.
Freight traffic amongst African countries is very limited because there are not many goods transported by air. Most of Africa's airfreighted goods consist of horticultural produce which is exported to Europe during the winter season. There is very limited inter-Africa freight traffic because most of the countries produce similar commodities. Besides, most imported goods are non-perishable and are therefore transported by rail or road.
Another problem which air transport in Africa faces, though minor, is weather. Tropical storms occur when die sun is overhead due to pressure changes in the atmosphere. They delay the departure or landing of aircraft caught up in it due to poor visibility.
However, even with all these problems, air transport is vital to some countries. South Africa, for example, relies on air transport to export its gold and diamonds. Zambia also airfreighted her oil inland after hostile incidents with Zimbabwe who are their link to the coast.