Travel expert: Stiff regulations hindering investment in Africa’s business aviation sector

Chukwuerika Achum, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Falcon Aero Limited, says the current regulations in Africa are too stiff and not appropriate to drive investment into the continent’s business aviation sector.

Achum took the position at the recent launch of CharterXE and FlyPJX —  technology platforms developed by his company to ease business jet booking and make access to the service more inclusive.

Business aviation is a specialised travel solution. Travellers often subscribe to the service when time is of the essence.

It is sometimes called corporate aviation (or charter operations) and entails the use of any general aviation (GA) aircraft for business purposes.

According to Mordor Intelligence — a research firm — the Middle East and African charter jet services market is projected to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of only over 3 percent during the forecast period (2022-2027).

Speaking at the event, Achum said civil aviation authorities in Africa need to invest in designing regulations that will harness investment into the business aviation sector” of the region.

‘We expect to see an evolution of regulations. We believe that the current regulations around Africa are still very stiff, and are not suited for the kind of expansion that we expect business aviation to drive,” the travel expert said.

“So, from the regulatory side, we expect the civil aviation authorities of Africa to invest a lot more in designing or redesigning the regulations that will harness investments into that sector — open up the sector for more investment.”

Achum also said limited access to finance was putting a strain on the sector’s growth, as the aviation business requires a lot of capital.

He said airlines have a short lifespan in Nigeria because stakeholders are struggling with double-digits interest rates on loans.

“We’ve had issues with double-digit interest rates. Aviation is capital intensive, it’s long-term-centric investments and traditionally, the investments have not matched the business models because a lot of the investments have been short-term double-digit interest rates, and they’re not really able to match the revenue space of the airlines. That’s why you have a very short lifespan of airlines in Nigeria,” Achum explained.

BUSINESS AVIATION IN NIGERIA TO GROW BY 10 PERCENT

However, on growth prospects, the Falcon CEO said Nigeria’s air transport sector has significant potentials.

According to Achum, the country’s charter aviation sector was the first to rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic before the commercial sector.

He told TheCable that “over the next five years, the business division of the industry is expected to grow by 10 percent year-on-year”.

But there must be a synergy between the government and the stakeholders, Achum said.

“Governments have to also realise that the regulator cannot function without the regulated. So, for you to have an active regulator, you also need to have a robust regulated economy. So, that stakeholder participation between the regulator and regulated, having that parley to understand that the both of us we need to work hand-in-hand.”

Achum, therefore, called for the establishment of more business aviation outfits to cater for the customised needs of those flying in and out of Africa for business.

REGULATIONS GUIDE AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS

Speaking more broadly about regulatory issues, Afolabi Lasun Samson, deputy manager at the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), said regulation is not meant for the charter business alone.

Samson said regulations are meant to guide the operation of aircrafts, agents, and other things in the industry.

“So, the regulation is just like a law telling you how you can do your business. So, everything that we do in civil aviation are not local, they are international. So, anything that is against the regulation cannot actually work. We develop our own regulations,” he said.