East Africa's airspace protectionism conundrum

East African governments have to decide whether to open up their airspace to competition or continue protecting national airlines that are struggling to remain airborne. The East African reports that protectionism, which has been sustaining local carriers, has impeded the growth of the aviation industry and has been blamed for the current exorbitant airfares. Although Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi are among the 44 African states that adopted the Yamoussoukro Declaration, which calls for open skies across the continent, the East Africa Community states have been reluctant to comply for fear of crippling local airlines. The declaration, named after the Ivorian city where it was signed in 1999, calls for full liberalisation of the intra-African air transport market by removing all restrictions on access, prices, frequency and capacity. ‘Air service liberalisation leads to increased air service levels and lower fares, which in turn stimulates additional traffic volumes and can bring about increased economic growth and employment,’ said Rick Russell, vice-president of consulting firm InterVISTAS.