Hilka Birns/WINDHOEK
Bilateral air services agreements among Southern African Development Community (SADC) states are to be revised by March to allow for the implementation of a regional open skies policy over the next two years.
Speaking at the recent Airlines Association of Southern Africa conference in Windhoek, Namibia, SADC aviation spokesman, Omari Nundu, said this follows a decision by SADC transport ministers in Johannesburg on 5 September last year to revise third and fourth freedom rights, plus fifth freedom rights where no third and fourth freedom rights are exercised within the region.
The open skies policy will apply to regionally-owned or controlled carriers only. Liberalisation will not be government-enforced, but will be left to the airlines to implement as they see fit, Nundu says.
The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) has recommended that the SADC states and airlines implement regional liberalisation. "African airlines have been bound historically by bilateral air service agreements that have been anti-competitive and restrictive, favouring policies of protectionism for national or flag carriers," said AASA chief executive, John Morrison. "I have no doubt that liberalisation will pave the way for immediate airline development within the region, which will make more services available to the public," he adds.
AASA also calls for the relaxation of current ownership and control rules.
Current moves in Southern Africa are in line with a liberalisation policy agreed by Organisation of African Unity (OAU) states at Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire, in 1988 (known as the Yamoussoukro Declaration) and amended as the Yamoussoukro Decision in November 1999 after 11 years of indecision.
This recommends unrestricted third, fourth and staggered fifth freedom rights, and unlimited capacity between African city pairs.
There is still confusion over whether the Yamoussoukro Decision has been properly signed to give it full legal effect; whether it has been merely endorsed by OAU heads of state as a recommendation; whether it has the support of all OAU members; and whether the terms are consistent with the document discussed at Yamoussoukro during 1999.
Source: Flight International
