The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) is an AU Agenda 2063 flagship project to expand intra-African air connectivity through a single, liberalised air transport market across Africa. Measures that help deregulate the air transport market create a conducive environment for enhanced transnational competition, in line with the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision (YD) on air-services liberalisation, which was operationalised through SAATM. Eligible airlines are being considered for additional traffic rights aimed at better connectivity, landing rights, flexible ownership rules, and harmonised safety and security standards.
Officially launched in 2018, SAATM has thirty-eight participating countries, representing more than 89% of intra-African air traffic. Of these, 23 AU Member States have signed a memorandum of implementation to remove any bilateral air services agreement restrictions not in compliance with the YD.
In February 2020, the Bank approved a US$7 million grant for institutional support to implement SAATM. The project aims to enhance Africans’ access to air travel by supporting the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) - the SAATM executive agency - in fulfilling its mandate. It also aims to ensure the sustainable development of air transport by enhancing the compliance of countries, airlines, and airports with safety, security, and environmental protection requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Project activities ended in December 2024, and its achievements include reinforcement of AFCAC through technical capacity, development of key regulatory texts on consumer protection and competition (in coordination with RECs and the AfCFTA Secretariat), advocacy for full implementation of SAATM, training of RECs and member countries on African air transport/economic regulations, and resolution of disputes between countries on traffic rights. Moreover, more than ten airlines and countries have been assisted to increase their safety and security levels.
On 14th November 2022, fifteen countries signed an agreement to launch a pilot project of the SAATM initiative through clusters of small groups of countries, promoting the benefits and addressing impediments to the implementation of SAATM. The multi-stakeholder approach is designed to facilitate a harmonised approach towards increasing traffic through 5th freedom routes - intra-African air travel routes flown between two foreign countries but as part of a routing service to and from the airline’s home country - aiming to reach 30% by the end of 2025. AFCAC’s continued engagement with Member States is yielding positive results and has also led to increased air connectivity (108 new routes between September 2022 and April 2025), the completion of an aviation infrastructure gap analysis, and resolution of various air transport market access issues1.
There is more to be done to iron out regulatory inconsistencies and restrictive bilateral air services arrangements. National carriers are often afforded protection from competition, while restrictive visa policies also contribute to limiting the initiative’s full implementation. A review and update of the initiative would help ensure alignment with more recent developments in the sector, be it the growth of digital platforms, cybersecurity threats or e-commerce growth that is driving the demand for aviation services. A wider air transport network with new routes and enhanced airline competition would provide travellers with wider choices and may encourage lower fares, which in turn will help grow air travel and accessibility and facilitate tourism, trade in goods and services, related economic opportunity and investment.