Expert Identifies Hurdles To Aviation Sector Dev

Poor leadership and wrong policies have been identified as the biggest problems hampering the development of the aviation sector in Africa.

The observation was made by an aviation expert, Peter Wale who is a former Chan-changi management staff, in a chat with newsmen in Port Harcourt.

He pointed out that the poor leadership problem has led to slow development of aviation in Africa which he said resulted to poor funding, week airlines, high fuel costs and airport charges, inadequate manpower, unavailable road map for the sector and weak policies that mar rather than make the airlines in the sector and other issues.

According to him, time has come for the various African countries and airlines to cooperate by forming partnerships in various segments of the aviation business. He also identified visa restrictions as one of the major problems inhibiting the growth of aviation in Africa, saying that it has frustrated efforts of experts and investors to carry out legitimate businesses within the continent.

Wale charged African leaders to help unlock the economic potentials of the continent by ensuring excellent air connectivity between various regions, stressing that the era of competing without co-operation is over, and that the success of many European airlines is hinged on partnerships. “Africa’s aviation needs good leadership in order to put things right for the sector. Africa needs to embrace positive changes to move to the next level. Visa restriction needs to be abolished if a vibrant sector is to evolve in Africa.”

“Visa restriction discourages trade and commerce on the international scene, and you can preach improved air transport, only to draw it back through visa restrictions. Nobody will improve the sector if not ourselves”, he concluded.