Air travel within Africa is hampered by bad connections, high prices, hostile visa rules and heavy taxation. The continent contains 16 landlocked countries where planes should be an obvious way of getting around, but nearly a fifth of the world's people live in Africa yet it accounts for just 2% of air travellers.
In 2023 only 28% of flights run by African airlines were to other African countries, compared with 80% of flights by European airlines within Europe. Flights within Africa operated at just 76% capacity on average, the lowest of any region. Fusty national carriers dominate the market, charging high prices because they frequently hold a monopoly on routes and must hedge against currency movements.
Average air taxes in Africa are twice those in the richer Middle East. Nigerian travellers pay an average of $180 in tax per international trip; those in Gabon and Sierra Leone around $300. The African Union's plan for a more liberalised, single air-transport market has not got off the ground.
Less than a third of trips around the continent are visa-free for Africans. Getting the right permit is expensive and can take weeks, making business travel at short notice all but impossible.
Africa-themed conferences are frequently held in the Gulf because it is easier for delegates from different African countries to meet in Doha than in Dar es Salaam or Dakar. Cargo that might be flown is instead trucked for days on terrible roads across many borders.
Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways have made flying in east Africa smoother than in the west. Ivory Coast wants to become a travel hub, with its state airline adding more routes. Qatar Airways is eyeing a stake in RwandAir that could help it expand in central Africa. Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger recently banned Air France from serving their countries.
Alas, I am dying beyond my means.