{"id":645894,"date":"2019-06-26T14:53:53","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T14:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Ghana<\/p>\n
\n
\"Ghana
\nThe Vice President, Nana Akufo- Addo earlier raised concerns about the stalled contract <\/span>
\n<\/figure>\n

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has challenged African leaders and stakeholders in the Aviation industry to work harder towards achieving the single African Air Transport Market to make air travel within the continent more affordable and convenient.<\/p>\n

Giving the opening address at a 2-Day International Air Transport Association (IATA) regional aviation forum in Accra Vice President Bawumia questioned the protectionist, silo mentality that currently characterizes the aviation industry in Africa, noting that this is militating against its growth and making travel on the continent prohibitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cost of travel is so much higher on the continent. Muhammad Albakri (Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East of IATA) was giving us data that this was about 45% higher. Yet we all know what we need to do \u2013 we\u2019ve known it for quite a while \u2013 what we need to do to overcome these challenges. We\u2019ve talked about an Open Skies policy, we\u2019ve talked about a single African air market. We\u2019ve been doing a lot of talking but less of the doing, and this challenge has bedevilled us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see other parts of the world that these issues have been pretty much sorted and the cost of air travel has been much lower. We are making very slow progress and it is time for us to really look at how we are going to bring this into a reality. I know that countries are signing bilateral agreements and so on. In my own honest opinion, I think that is a slow track. How much longer will it take for all the African countries to sign bilateral agreements to open up the skies? We need a major commitment to making sure the African Continental Free Trade agreement is given real meaning in the area of air travel. We need that commitment,\u201d Vice President Bawumia underscored.<\/p>\n