- RwandAir CEO calls for open skies implementation
- Only 19pc of intra-African city pairs served directly
- $774m in airline revenues blocked in African markets
- 38 states signed up to SAATM but implementation lags
- Calls for coalition of the willing with clear timelines
RwandAir CEO Yvonne Manzi Makolo has called for a coalition of the willing to move beyond commitments and implement Africa’s open skies agenda through clear timelines and measurable outcomes. Writing in an opinion article published by East Africa Media Group ahead of the inaugural Africa Mindset Reset Forum in Kigali, Makolo urged governments to judge progress by lower fares, improved connectivity and the release of blocked airline funds rather than signed agreements. The continent’s biggest obstacle is no longer policy but execution.
Makolo called for three immediate priorities: the release of blocked airline funds, greater commercial cooperation between African airlines through interline agreements and fifth-freedom operations, and closer alignment between the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market and the African Union’s Free Movement Protocol. The cost of flying within Africa remains artificially high, with taxes, fees and overflight charges accounting for nearly half the fare on some regional routes. Only 19pc of intra-African city pairs are served by direct flights, aviation taxes and charges are about 15pc above the global average, and nearly $774m in airline revenues remained blocked in African markets as of March 2026.
Although 38 African states have signed up to SAATM and more than 100 intra-African routes have been opened in recent years, implementation has lagged. It is often easier for African carriers to establish codeshares with non-African airlines than with other African operators, forcing passengers to connect via Europe or the Gulf when travelling between African cities. Makolo expressed willingness to put RwandAir’s weight behind implementation on a clock, stating that the skies were never the barrier but rather the follow-through.
Yvonne Manzi Makolo shared: “What we need now, and what I am prepared to put RwandAir’s weight behind, is implementation on a clock, as the skies were never the barrier but our follow-through has been.”
