AfBAA Pushes to Remove Regulatory Barriers as African Business Aviation Market Expands

At the Aviation Africa summit in Nairobi this week, the African Business Aviation Association (AfBAA) met with the African Civil Aviation Commission and the African Airlines Association to push for harmonised aviation regulations across the continent. AfBAA chairperson Dawit Lemma said overflight and landing permits remain difficult to obtain in many countries, and that air traffic control charges are elevated and inconsistent because most national civil aviation agencies lack alternative income sources. He noted that in some countries a permit can be obtained online within 30 minutes, while in others the process is far more difficult.

The African Union's Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), launched several years ago to liberalise air transport across the continent, has seen slow implementation: only 33 of the 55 African Union member states have ratified the agreement. Lemma said AfBAA hopes to see more tangible regulatory progress by 2028. He also pointed to maintenance infrastructure as a challenge, with operators sometimes ferrying aircraft as far as Dubai to resolve straightforward technical issues, and cited Dassault Aviation's acquisition of ExecuJet Aviation's MRO operations in South Africa and Nigeria as a positive example, saying the manufacturer's market share on the continent has grown since.

Lemma described regional variation across the continent: North Africa's business aviation activity resembles patterns seen in Europe, West African countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast have seen growth driven by economic expansion, sub-Saharan states with limited commercial airline service show significant demand for business aviation, and eastern and central Africa, where commercial options are stronger, see turboprop flights to smaller communities dominate. AfBAA now has more than 55 member companies and recorded growth in movements, with industry forecasts comparing Africa's trajectory to South America and Asia. Lemma anticipated growth over the next two to three years across corporate jets, helicopters, turboprops, and advanced air mobility vehicles, and pointed to the delivery of one of the first Bombardier Global 8000 aircraft into Nigeria last year as a sign that Africa is no longer a destination for older aircraft. He added that negative public perceptions linking business aviation to corrupt wealth remain a persistent concern, making financiers and insurers cautious and complicating aircraft financing and cross-border banking.

The Nairobi meetings show a familiar dynamic in emerging business aviation markets: demand growth is outpacing the regulatory and infrastructure scaffolding meant to support it. Permit processing times that vary from 30 minutes to days within the same continent, and air traffic control charges set by agencies with no other revenue base, function as a hidden tax on cross-border operators and keep flight planning unpredictable regardless of aircraft availability.

SAATM's ratification by only 33 of 55 states illustrates how continental liberalisation agreements can outpace the national legislative action needed to make them operative, leaving operators to navigate a patchwork rather than a single market. Maintenance capacity gaps compound this: when routine technical issues require ferrying aircraft to Dubai, turnaround times and costs rise in ways that discourage fleet basing on the continent, which is why a manufacturer building local MRO capacity, as Dassault has done through the ExecuJet acquisition, can visibly shift market share.

What happens next will hinge on whether AfBAA's engagement with the African Civil Aviation Commission and African Airlines Association converts into ratifications and harmonised charge structures ahead of Lemma's 2028 marker, and on whether financiers and insurers grow more comfortable as newer aircraft like the Global 8000 delivery into Nigeria signal fleet renewal rather than a market absorbing older equipment.