
Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 43, 2025.
Introduction. FlyConcorde Ltd. is aiming to reintroduce supersonic passenger flights by 2026, nearly two decades after the Concorde’s retirement, with new aircraft designed to cruise at 60,000 feet, use sustainable aviation fuel, and produce significantly less sonic boom. The U.S. lifting of the overland supersonic flight ban in June 2025

Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 42, 2025.
Introduction. The Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has ruled that pets transported by air can legally be classified as baggage, meaning airlines are not obligated to pay higher compensation if an animal is lost unless a special declaration of value was made at check-in. The case stemmed

Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 41, 2025.
Introduction. An International Air Transport Association (IATA) audit, conducted with the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and Kenya Airports Authority, has flagged serious safety deficiencies at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)—warning that these issues could prompt a safety downgrade that might ban large aircraft from operating there. The report highlights a

Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 40, 2025.
Introduction. The International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly has established a solid foundation to achieve universal access to air transport by 2050, in alignment with its long-term Strategic Plan. The decisions made focus on ensuring every nation develops both the infrastructure and regulatory capacity necessary for sustainable air connectivity. Advancing its

Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 39, 2025.
Introduction. The air transport industry will need approximately 500 million tonnes (Mt) of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) annually by 2050 to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions, yet global production in 2025 is estimated at only 2 Mt. A recent study by International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Worley Consulting projects that

Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 38, 2025.
Introduction. Global air cargo rates held steady at $2.42/kg in early September, down from $2.56 in August, signaling market stabilization after pandemic-era volatility. Africa led capacity growth with a 7% increase over five weeks, while North America contracted by 4% and saw a 2% rate decline. Asia Pacific recorded 3%

Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 37, 2025.
Introduction. Aviation experts from 19 countries across five African regional blocs have endorsed a model bilateral air services agreement designed to accelerate the long-delayed liberalization of Africa’s skies under the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). Backed by the European Union, the template aims to harmonize fragmented rules, dismantle restrictions,

Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 36, 2025.
Introduction. The Airports Council International – ACI Africa working paper on Safety Fundamentals: Aerodrome Certification highlights major disparities in global certification, with rates as low as 33% in Western and Central Africa and 52% in Eastern and Southern Africa, compared to much higher levels in other regions. While progress has

Africa Weekly Aviation Trails: Week 35, 2025.
Introduction. Angola scored 83.14% in the latest International Civil Aviation Organization civil aviation safety audit, ranking 4th in Africa behind Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania, and surpassing both the African (66.70%) and global (72.01%) averages. The audit, conducted in June 2025, assessed the national aviation system and key airports, marking a