On behalf of the Executive Committee and members of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), I am pleased to welcome all air transport stakeholders at the Association’s 9th Aviation Stakeholders Convention (ASC) which will take place from 18 – 19 May 2021 in virtual format, graciously hosted by Ethiopian Airlines.

When we rolled over the event from March last year, it was with great anticipation that the situation in 2021 would be safe and conducive with eased travel restrictions to enable face to face conferencing. However, our assessment of the trends reveals that a physical event will be unlikely during the calendar dates for the Convention. Indeed 2021 will be yet another tough year for the travel industry which has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Convention will provide an ideal forum for stakeholders to dialogue, exchange knowledge and experiences for the sector’s recovery efforts and deliberate on feasible solutions to alleviate the industry challenges. We would have loved to meet our members, partners and our industry stakeholders in person at the Convention and are preparing to make your online experience at the event truly memorable.

We continue to take necessary initiatives and actions in close collaboration with key air transport institutions, partners and stakeholders to find workable solutions for resilience to the pandemic and for post recovery efforts.

AFRAA and Ethiopian Airlines look forward to your participation at the 9th Aviation Stakeholders Convention.

Mr. Abderahmane Berthe
AFRAA Secretary General

I look forward to welcome all air transport industry stakeholders for this great opportunity where we will talk about the destiny of our continent’s aviation business. I am glad that Ethiopian Airlines is hosting this conference. I believe that a sustainable, interconnected and affordable Air Transport in Africa is not beyond the realm of possibility if we consolidate our efforts. By doing so, we can contribute to the continents economic advancements.

At this time, we need to work in restoring passengers’ confidence, opening up African skies and increasing the share of African carriers in African skies. We need to balance the existing market share of African airlines which is tilted towards non-African carriers. Financial and policy support of governments is vital to amplify the industry and create globally competent African carriers together.

United efforts are essential to fight the pandemic – all regional and international stakeholders should allocate adequate resources to support the recovery of the aviation industry in Africa.

The convention presents an excellent platform for all air transport industry stakeholders to establish together the building blocks for the recovery of the industry to realize AFRAA’s goal of a safe, secure and reliable air transport in Africa.

I am thrilled to host the 9^th aviation stakeholders’ convention and I wish all of us a successful event ahead.

Thank you and Stay safe!