AFRAA discusses the African Development Bank’s $7 billion commitment to African airlines, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and progress on Free Route Airspace (FRA) following successful trials.
At the recently held Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa (BARSA) Summit 2026, the African Pilot team spoke with Maureen Kahonge, Director, Commercial & Communications at the African Airlines Association (AFRAA).
The discussion covers the outcomes of the Airlines, Capital and Connectivity Forum, convened by the African Development Bank Group in partnership with AFRAA, as well as key developments shaping African aviation, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the next phase of the Free Route Airspace (FRA) project.
The Nairobi forum brought together African airlines and industry stakeholders to address how to make the sector more attractive for investment and to tackle the challenges contributing to the perception of African airlines as high risk. These include capacity-building gaps, fragmented regulatory frameworks, blocked funds and maintenance, repair and overhaul requirements.
A major outcome was the African Development Bank’s announcement of US$7 billion to support the airline industry, with a focus on capacity development and access to finance for fleet acquisition. Discussions also included Afreximbank, with progress towards establishing a financing pool for airlines and increased collaboration between institutions.
The conversation also highlights the need to develop SAF supply chains in Africa to ensure availability at competitive rates.
In addition, progress on the Free Route Airspace (FRA) project is discussed following successful trials conducted between November 2023 and May 2025. These trials enabled airlines to operate User Preferred Routes (UPRs), delivering measurable results:
- 5,000 metric tonnes of fuel saved
- 16,000 metric tonnes reduction in carbon emissions
- 1,400 hours saved in flight time
Based on these results, African airlines could save approximately 50,000 metric tonnes of fuel through wider implementation.
Eastern and Southern Africa are next in line for FRA rollout, with trials and workshops planned as the next step towards implementation.
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