Air transport contributes 6.2m jobs, $55.8bn to Africa GDP–ICAO
The President of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Council, Dr Bernard Aliu, has said that the African aviation industry has been one of the fastest-growing globally currently contributes at least $55.8 billion to Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as supports 6.2 million jobs in the region.
A statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, Federal Ministry of Aviation, James Odaudu, the ICAO President, stated this at the 50th-anniversary celebration of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) in Dakar Senegal.
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“In Africa today, air transport supports 6.2 million jobs and 55.8 billion dollars in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the African aviation market is one of the world’s most promising in terms of its overall growth potential, due largely to your emerging industrial sectors and steadily increasing population figures”, he said.
Dr Aliu disclosed that in accordance with ICAO’s long-term traffic forecasts, passenger traffic for the Africa region is expected to grow by 4.3 per cent annually up to 2045, while freight traffic should also expand faster than the world average, at 3.9 per cent annually over the same period.
He expressed optimism that these increases are expected to see aviation-related employment in Africa increasing to roughly 9.8 million jobs by 2036, and it’s air transport GDP impacts almost tripling to $159 billion over the same period.
These trends he said underscore the tremendous potential of well-managed and ICAO-compliant air transport growth that’ll lift African continent into a new era of promise and prosperity.
“Air connectivity is the unique and indispensable catalyst for socio-economic growth and one which facilitates mobility and contributes to the development of trade, tourism, and services both within Africa and between it and the world.
“The direct routes air transport establishes between international destinations and markets has been recognized for its critical contributions to State’s achievement of the United Nations Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, in addition to the implementation of the African Union’s (AU’s) Agenda 2063”, he explained.
