Keyamo Calls for Stronger Intra-African Air Connectivity

Festus Keyamo, Nigeria's Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, has urged for enhanced intra-African air connectivity, emphasizing the sector's vital role in expanding economic integration across the continent. During the opening of the 35th Airports Council International (ACI Africa) Annual General Assembly, the minister highlighted the need to make travel between African cities as seamless as voyages from African cities to destinations outside the continent.

In a statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Tunde Moshood, Keyamo advocated for increased collaboration among African governments, airlines, airport operators, and regulators to build commercially viable airports, establish suitable regulatory frameworks, and improve connectivity throughout the continent.

According to the minister, the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) offers a crucial foundation for achieving stronger intra-African connectivity, while the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is creating a vast economic sphere where aviation should play a pivotal role. "When African airports connect Africa more effectively, Africa becomes smaller, and opportunity becomes larger," Keyamo asserted.

The minister also spotlighted Nigeria's aviation advancements, including its impressive 91.45 per cent Effective Implementation score from the 2026 ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission, marking it as the country's highest-ever score. Keyamo pledged that the federal government would modernize airport infrastructure, broaden aviation value chains, and stimulate private-sector involvement in airport infrastructure and services.

The minister underlined that future African airports must be secure, efficient, financially viable, technically equipped, environmentally conscious, and resilient to disruptions.