NAIROBI (AFP) — Struggling African airlines should cooperate to survive against fierce competition from international carriers, notably from Asia and the Middle East, the industry warned Tuesday.
African Airline Service chief Nick Fadugba said the airlines must explore mergers, acquisitions and takeovers to strengthen their standing in the market.
Fadugba said the continental airlines, which account for three percent of world aircraft departures, should consider mergers to improve their capital base and maintain their position in the competitive aviation sector.
"African governments and airlines have to consolidate within the continent and not allow the African market to be totally dominated by non-African carriers," he told reporters in Nairobi.
Of the continental carriers, Kenya Airways, Mauritius Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Egypt Air, Royal Air Maroc and South African Airways are the few profitable airlines and can fly to several international destinations.
The rest have been hampered by a combination of losses and poor safety records, compounded by poor maintenance, ageing charter fleets, untrained crews and the illegal movement of aircraft in war-torn countries, according to the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).
In September, AFRAA called for a code of conduct to regulate a crippling flow of pilots from African airlines to richer and more established ones elsewhere.
Aviation experts have warned of a shortage of pilots in the region owing to rapid traffic growth in Asia and the Middle East and the surge of lucrative low-cost carriers notably in Europe and Asia.
They say demand for African pilots will increase in the coming decade because of the air industry's growth in emerging powerhouses India and China.
Fadugba said the exodus of pilots has had an impact on the performance of the sector.
"The brain drain in Africa is alarming. Many airlines from the Middle East are poaching pilots (because) they have a lot of money in their back pockets," he said ahead of the 16th Annual African Aviation Finance Conference to be held in Nairobi next month.
Kenya Airways chief Titus Naikuni called on African governments to allow the private sector to privatise their national carriers or have a hand in their operations to boost growth.
Kenya Airways, which now flies some 36 routes around the world, is 26-percent owned by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines.
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