SAATM implementation gap takes centre stage at 2026 SAPTCO lecture

The implementation gap in the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) will come under scrutiny as aviation stakeholders converge on Lagos for the 2026 Annual Lecture of the Strategic Aviation Planning and Training Company (SAPTCO) on November 5.

The lecture, which will examine the challenges impeding the realisation of a unified African air transport market, will be delivered by Ms Iyabo O. Sosina, former Secretary-General of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), who was instrumental in the initiative’s launch.

According to a statement by SAPTCO’s Managing Consultant, Mr Sam Adurogoboye, the lecture is expected to provide a platform for critical engagement on why SAATM, despite its strategic importance to African aviation, has yet to achieve its intended objectives years after its introduction.

The event, which will also serve as a training programme, is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the NCAA Training Suite, Annex, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, will attend as Special Guest of Honour, while the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, will be the Guest of Honour.

Former NCAA Director-General, Dr Harold Demuren, who delivered the inaugural SAPTCO annual lecture last year, is expected to attend as Father of the Day.

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Other expected participants include representatives of airlines, aviation agencies, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and aviation media practitioners.

Adurogoboye said the lecture would seek to refocus African leaders’ attention on the core objectives of SAATM, particularly the implementation of open-skies policies, the liberalisation of air transport services and the traffic rights envisaged under the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision.

 Launched in January 2018 as an African Union initiative, SAATM is designed to establish a single, liberalised air transport market across the continent by reducing regulatory and market-access barriers among participating countries.

The initiative is intended to expand intra-African air connectivity, stimulate competition, improve passenger access and reduce air transport costs, while facilitating trade and economic integration under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

However, the pace of implementation has remained a major concern among industry stakeholders, particularly over the extent to which participating states have translated the policy’s liberalisation objectives into effective market access and operational opportunities for African airlines.

Adurogoboye described the slow translation of SAATM’s objectives into practical outcomes as a setback for the continent’s aviation development, stressing the need for renewed political commitment and coordinated implementation.

He said: “Unfortunately, this laudable programme is yet to be translated into reality years after it was conceptualised and launched.”

He expressed optimism that the SAPTCO lecture would serve as a catalyst for renewed efforts to advance the initiative, adding that effective implementation would deliver improved connectivity, economic growth and lower operating costs across the African aviation industry.