- News
- Jun 6, 2024
- 16 min read
Business Jet Market Takes Root in Africa
Demand for business aircraft is growing as companies expand across Africa. South Africa has the continent’s largest business aircraft fleet.
In Africa, perceptions of business aviation are changing slowly but surely. Gone are the days when business aviation was seen as a means of transportation only for the extremely wealthy; today, it is regarded as an economic catalyst that enables countries to increase investment and stimulate development.
Without business aviation, investing in many parts of Africa would be difficult, particularly given the lack of efficient road and rail transportation across the vast continent, industry leaders note. Business aviation supports economic growth on the mineral-rich continent by transporting precious minerals such as gold and diamonds. In West and Central Africa, business jets play a key role in supporting the oil and gas industry, transporting personnel and operating emergency and medical evacuation flights. In East Africa, business aircraft support the rapidly developing tourism sector by taking tourists to beaches, national parks and safaris.
Medical evacuation is also an important activity for business aircraft. Because of the shortage of fully equipped hospitals and specialist doctors across the continent, private aviation helps address this deficit by operating medical evacuation flights to countries with more developed healthcare systems.
Business jet flights operate between West Africa and Europe, North Africa and Europe, and East Africa and the Middle East. Nevertheless, most business aircraft flights operate on intra-African routes.
According to Danie Joubert, vice president of sales for Africa at international broker Jetcraft, many companies are opening business divisions in more African countries, creating a need for air travel. Joubert said demand for business jet ownership is rising sharply across the continent, as demonstrated by countries such as Angola, Uganda and Ghana.
“In Kenya, which already has a strong base of short-range private aircraft used for tourism, we are seeing growing interest in larger aircraft for longer flights. Established markets such as Nigeria and South Africa remain dynamic.”
Of the 418 business jets in Africa, South Africa has the largest business aircraft fleet, with 137, followed by Kenya and Nigeria.
“Instead of being the final destination for many aging aircraft, the continent is now regarded as a viable center of operations, where leading OEMs actively market their latest models and international operating standards are the norm,” added Alcinda Pereira, chair of the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA), a pan-African industry organization with 40 members from Africa, Europe and the United States.
Pereira, AfBAA’s first female chair, said the association, established in 2012, had played a significant role in changing perceptions of the industry and continued to strengthen ties with its members, as well as with international and regional institutions, to promote the growth, understanding and acceptance of business aviation.
“AfBAA’s goal is to promote business and general aviation as a positive tool for economic development in Africa that is valued and supported by African governments, civil aviation authorities and aviation industry stakeholders across Africa,” she added.
In 2018, AfBAA expanded its scope to include both business and general aviation in Africa. “This significantly expanded and strengthened AfBAA’s presence on the continent and firmly positioned it as the official voice of business and general aviation in Africa,” Pereira said.
According to AfBAA, Africa’s aviation sector is gradually recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Air traffic increased by 31.4 percent, while air traffic stands at 93 percent of its 2019 level. Passenger traffic is expected to reach its pre-pandemic level this year.
Although the continent is home to more than 15 percent of the world’s population, Africa accounts for only 3 percent of global air traffic. However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts that seven of the 10 fastest-growing aviation economies over the next 20 years will be in Africa.
AfBAA executives are optimistic that this growth also bodes well for business aviation and will attract the key investors, particularly from Europe, needed to develop services in the sector.
“Africa offers attractive investment opportunities for global business aviation players because of its growing middle class, resource-rich economy and untapped aviation market potential,” said Gavin Kiggen, vice chair of AfBAA. “Demand for charter services, maintenance centers and aircraft sales is growing in the region.”
According to Kiggen, African governments and regulators are beginning to understand that business aviation is a valuable business tool, which has led to the optimization of investment on the continent.
“Understanding the value of business aviation to Africa is linked to the need for corporations to travel in order to expand and succeed in business, whether locally or internationally. That is why companies such as AfBAA’s members are continually strengthening their presence,” Kiggen said.
Dawit Lemma, founder and CEO of Ethiopian aviation services provider Krimson Aviation, said one of the most positive developments was recognition by regulators on the continent. Regulators are now beginning to understand that business aviation, general aviation and commercial aviation are not the same and require their own sets of rules, Lemma said. “A fine example of this is the new General Aviation Safety Strategy that the South African Civil Aviation Authority has begun implementing,” he noted.
However, not everything is as positive as it may appear. Business aviation operators have faced numerous problems impeding the sector’s growth.
Insufficient awareness, political instability, armed conflicts, inadequate airport infrastructure, lengthy flight-permit procedures, and exorbitant landing and ground-handling fees are among the long list of problems affecting business aviation operations in Africa.
Political instability within the continent is one of the main problems holding back the development of business aviation. Business aviation professionals lament that the continent has many active conflict zones. Over the past couple of years, mainly in West and Central Africa, advisories concerning the flight levels at which business aircraft may operate because of active conflict zones have appeared in many parts of African airspace.
High taxes and airport charges are another obstacle. According to IATA, Africa has some of the highest taxes and fees imposed on aviation fuel, as well as the highest landing fees and charges. These costs are passed on to passengers, keeping airfares high and making tickets more expensive than in other parts of the world.
In addition, there have been serious problems with visa facilitation in African countries. However, some countries have simplified their visa procedures in recent years. Jon Howell, founder and CEO of AviaDev Africa, said openness in Africa is improving as countries recognize that high visa fees and time-consuming procedures are damaging leisure and business tourism. “Great progress has been made in introducing electronic visas and visas on arrival. The visa agreement between Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda is a good example,” Howell said.
African countries are also seeking to address problems with poor airport infrastructure. “Several notable investments in new airports have been made in Africa in recent years, but there are still many poorly equipped airports and, more importantly, airports operating at or even above capacity,” Howell said. “Airport infrastructure must keep pace with the development of routes on the continent if the market is to achieve growth,” he added.
Another barrier to significant growth in business aviation in Africa is the continent’s shortage of qualified pilots. Pereira said some aviation nonprofit organizations are focused on supporting the professional development of pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals through scholarships, mentoring programs and training opportunities. “AfBAA looks at aviation as a whole to identify declines and developments in Africa. We want the industry to grow in every respect, benefiting all sectors.”
Business aircraft maintenance is unavailable in most African countries. “Maintenance of these types of aircraft remains difficult: outside South Africa and Kenya, technical support is either poor or entirely absent,” Kiggen said.
Lemma also points to problems involving aircraft financing and flight-operating requirements such as permits, fuel and other services supporting business aviation. “The biggest problem with obtaining permits, whether for VIP or medical evacuation flights, is the inconsistency of the process and permit lead times in different states, even neighboring countries,” Lemma said. “Country A may require only the aircraft documents and issue a permit online within 24 hours. However, state B may be a neighboring state that requires aircraft, crew and ownership documents, which must be physically processed by the CAA with a processing time of more than 72 hours,” he added. Unfortunately, delays in flight permits have cost lives.
Despite all the problems, AfBAA executives remain optimistic about the future of business aviation on the continent.
“Although some lingering effects of Covid are still being felt in Africa’s business aviation industry, leading companies agree that 2023 was positive financially and that private aviation recovered faster than initially forecast,” Kiggen said.
In addition, he said, emerging economies such as Angola, Uganda, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are becoming vital players in the industry.
“Although South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria continue to lead in terms of aircraft sales and charter demand, the increase in the number of participants with greater service capabilities is good news for the end user.”
With the growth of the oil and gas industry, the mining industry and the expanding tourism sector, the future of business aviation in Africa appears promising.
In Africa, perceptions of business aviation are changing slowly but surely. Gone are the days when business aviation was seen as a means of transportation only for the extremely wealthy; today, it is regarded as an economic catalyst that enables countries to increase investment and stimulate development.
Without business aviation, investing in many parts of Africa would be difficult, particularly given the lack of efficient road and rail transportation across the vast continent, industry leaders note. Business aviation supports economic growth on the mineral-rich continent by transporting precious minerals such as gold and diamonds. In West and Central Africa, business jets play a key role in supporting the oil and gas industry, transporting personnel and operating emergency and medical evacuation flights. In East Africa, business aircraft support the rapidly developing tourism sector by taking tourists to beaches, national parks and safaris.
Medical evacuation is also an important activity for business aircraft. Because of the shortage of fully equipped hospitals and specialist doctors across the continent, private aviation helps address this deficit by operating medical evacuation flights to countries with more developed healthcare systems.
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Business jet flights operate between West Africa and Europe, North Africa and Europe, and East Africa and the Middle East. Nevertheless, most business aircraft flights operate on intra-African routes.
According to Danie Joubert, vice president of sales for Africa at international broker Jetcraft, many companies are opening business divisions in more African countries, creating a need for air travel. Joubert said demand for business jet ownership is rising sharply across the continent, as demonstrated by countries such as Angola, Uganda and Ghana.
“In Kenya, which already has a strong base of short-range private aircraft used for tourism, we are seeing growing interest in larger aircraft for longer flights. Established markets such as Nigeria and South Africa remain dynamic.”
Of the 418 business jets in Africa, South Africa has the largest business aircraft fleet, with 137, followed by Kenya and Nigeria.
“Instead of being the final destination for many aging aircraft, the continent is now regarded as a viable center of operations, where leading OEMs actively market their latest models and international operating standards are the norm,” added Alcinda Pereira, chair of the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA), a pan-African industry organization with 40 members from Africa, Europe and the United States.
Pereira, AfBAA’s first female chair, said the association, established in 2012, had played a significant role in changing perceptions of the industry and continued to strengthen ties with its members, as well as with international and regional institutions, to promote the growth, understanding and acceptance of business aviation.
“AfBAA’s goal is to promote business and general aviation as a positive tool for economic development in Africa that is valued and supported by African governments, civil aviation authorities and aviation industry stakeholders across Africa,” she added.
In 2018, AfBAA expanded its scope to include both business and general aviation in Africa. “This significantly expanded and strengthened AfBAA’s presence on the continent and firmly positioned it as the official voice of business and general aviation in Africa,” Pereira said.
According to AfBAA, Africa’s aviation sector is gradually recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Air traffic increased by 31.4 percent, while air traffic stands at 93 percent of its 2019 level. Passenger traffic is expected to reach its pre-pandemic level this year.
Although the continent is home to more than 15 percent of the world’s population, Africa accounts for only 3 percent of global air traffic. However, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts that seven of the 10 fastest-growing aviation economies over the next 20 years will be in Africa.
AfBAA executives are optimistic that this growth also bodes well for business aviation and will attract the key investors, particularly from Europe, needed to develop services in the sector.
“Africa offers attractive investment opportunities for global business aviation players because of its growing middle class, resource-rich economy and untapped aviation market potential,” said Gavin Kiggen, vice chair of AfBAA. “Demand for charter services, maintenance centers and aircraft sales is growing in the region.”
According to Kiggen, African governments and regulators are beginning to understand that business aviation is a valuable business tool, which has led to the optimization of investment on the continent.
“Understanding the value of business aviation to Africa is linked to the need for corporations to travel in order to expand and succeed in business, whether locally or internationally. That is why companies such as AfBAA’s members are continually strengthening their presence,” Kiggen said.
Dawit Lemma, founder and CEO of Ethiopian aviation services provider Krimson Aviation, said one of the most positive developments was recognition by regulators on the continent. Regulators are now beginning to understand that business aviation, general aviation and commercial aviation are not the same and require their own sets of rules, Lemma said. “A fine example of this is the new General Aviation Safety Strategy that the South African Civil Aviation Authority has begun implementing,” he noted.
However, not everything is as positive as it may appear. Business aviation operators have faced numerous problems impeding the sector’s growth.
Insufficient awareness, political instability, armed conflicts, inadequate airport infrastructure, lengthy flight-permit procedures, and exorbitant landing and ground-handling fees are among the long list of problems affecting business aviation operations in Africa.
Political instability within the continent is one of the main problems holding back the development of business aviation. Business aviation professionals lament that the continent has many active conflict zones. Over the past couple of years, mainly in West and Central Africa, advisories concerning the flight levels at which business aircraft may operate because of active conflict zones have appeared in many parts of African airspace.
High taxes and airport charges are another obstacle. According to IATA, Africa has some of the highest taxes and fees imposed on aviation fuel, as well as the highest landing fees and charges. These costs are passed on to passengers, keeping airfares high and making tickets more expensive than in other parts of the world.
In addition, there have been serious problems with visa facilitation in African countries. However, some countries have simplified their visa procedures in recent years. Jon Howell, founder and CEO of AviaDev Africa, said openness in Africa is improving as countries recognize that high visa fees and time-consuming procedures are damaging leisure and business tourism. “Great progress has been made in introducing electronic visas and visas on arrival. The visa agreement between Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda is a good example,” Howell said.
African countries are also seeking to address problems with poor airport infrastructure. “Several notable investments in new airports have been made in Africa in recent years, but there are still many poorly equipped airports and, more importantly, airports operating at or even above capacity,” Howell said. “Airport infrastructure must keep pace with the development of routes on the continent if the market is to achieve growth,” he added.
Another barrier to significant growth in business aviation in Africa is the continent’s shortage of qualified pilots. Pereira said some aviation nonprofit organizations are focused on supporting the professional development of pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals through scholarships, mentoring programs and training opportunities. “AfBAA looks at aviation as a whole to identify declines and developments in Africa. We want the industry to grow in every respect, benefiting all sectors.”
Business aircraft maintenance is unavailable in most African countries. “Maintenance of these types of aircraft remains difficult: outside South Africa and Kenya, technical support is either poor or entirely absent,” Kiggen said.
Lemma also points to problems involving aircraft financing and flight-operating requirements such as permits, fuel and other services supporting business aviation. “The biggest problem with obtaining permits, whether for VIP or medical evacuation flights, is the inconsistency of the process and permit lead times in different states, even neighboring countries,” Lemma said. “Country A may require only the aircraft documents and issue a permit online within 24 hours. However, state B may be a neighboring state that requires aircraft, crew and ownership documents, which must be physically processed by the CAA with a processing time of more than 72 hours,” he added. Unfortunately, delays in flight permits have cost lives.
Despite all the problems, AfBAA executives remain optimistic about the future of business aviation on the continent.
“Although some lingering effects of Covid are still being felt in Africa’s business aviation industry, leading companies agree that 2023 was positive financially and that private aviation recovered faster than initially forecast,” Kiggen said.
In addition, he said, emerging economies such as Angola, Uganda, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are becoming vital players in the industry.
“Although South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria continue to lead in terms of aircraft sales and charter demand, the increase in the number of participants with greater service capabilities is good news for the end user.”
With the growth of the oil and gas industry, the mining industry and the expanding tourism sector, the future of business aviation in Africa appears promising.
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