A new national civil aviation policy being drafted in Ethiopia may open up opportunities to the country’s fledgling private-sector aviation industry, according to Endashaw Yegezu, director of economic regulation and strategic management at the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA).
The authority, in collaboration with the Ministry of Transport, is working on a draft policy that would enhance the participation of the private sector by removing current restrictions on capacity and traffic rights on domestic and international routes, he told Ethiopia’s Fortune business newspaper.
"We've recommended the Civil Aviation Authority to reconsider the restrictions on scheduled flights for private airlines in a way that will not affect the market," Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges explained, adding that the legislative review formed part of ongoing political and economic reform programmes being implemented by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Before COVID-19, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted that the Ethiopian air transport market would grow by 226% over the next 20 years.
With scheduled services to 22 domestic destinations, state-owned Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa International) dominates the local market with current civil aviation regulations designed to protect the national carrier and limit the participation of the private sector in aviation.
Although the country has eight private aviation companies, with three more in the pipeline, none of them operate scheduled flights. Private airlines are restricted to 50-seat aircraft, and there is no private maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility. Foreign investors are not allowed to invest in a domestic carrier.
Abyssinia Flight Services (Addis Ababa International) founder and managing director, Solomon Gizaw, said the authorities were moving too slowly and the industry remained restricted in the wake of the drastic fall in international travel. He said that private companies had resorted to cargo and air ambulance services to survive.
Private airlines told the newspaper that unfair competition practices were driving them out of business or delaying their recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. They also complained about the lack of access to hangars and runways. Lacking hangar space, they said, was forcing them to send their aircraft to Kenya and South Africa for maintenance, incurring costly foreign currency expenses.
National Airways (Ethiopia) (9Y, Addis Ababa International) and National Aviation College chief executive, Abera Lemi, said his company was struggling to stay in business due to the drop in air travel demand. He said the situation was exacerbated by uncompetitive regulatory practices.
"Our existence hinges on the will of the authorities," he said. “They can restrict the runway when they feel like it."
Girma Gebre, general manager of East African Aviation (Addis Ababa International), had a similar complaint, claiming that access to hangars was “on hold by the Ministry of Transport". Moges in response said the ministry was a regulatory body with no mandate to leasing out hangars, but Endashaw said the ECAA was keen to help the companies obtain soft loans and land for hangars.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, other private charter carriers in Ethiopia include Aquarius Aviation, Midroc Aviation, Trans Nation Airways, Walya Airways, and Zemen Flying Service.
