Aviation experts and stakeholders have renewed calls for the effective implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), eight years after the initiative was launched.
The initiative was designed to liberalise Africa’s aviation market, but industry stakeholders say African governments have yet to fully implement the programme.
As part of efforts to revive the initiative, the 2026 Annual Lecture of the Sam Adurogoboye Professional Training and Consultancy Organisation (SAPTCO), scheduled for November 5, 2026, in Lagos, will focus on unlocking the African aviation market.
The lecture is expected to bring together aviation professionals and other stakeholders to examine why SAATM has yet to deliver fully on its promise of an integrated and liberalised African air transport market.
According to the Managing Consultant of SAPTCO, Sam Adurogoboye, the lecture will be delivered by former Secretary-General of the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), Iyabo Sosina, who played a significant role in the development and launch of SAATM during her tenure at the continental aviation body.
He said the event would provide an opportunity for industry stakeholders to critically examine the challenges undermining the initiative and chart a new course for the continent’s aviation sector.
Adurogoboye said the lecture would seek to redirect the attention of African leaders to the original objectives of SAATM, including the liberalisation of air transport, open skies, traffic freedoms and implementation of the 1999 Yamoussoukro Decision.
SAATM is also regarded as a critical component of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as efficient air connectivity is essential to the movement of people, goods, services and investment across the continent.
Adurogoboye lamented that the ambitious programme was yet to translate into the level of integration and market access envisaged when it was conceptualised.
He expressed optimism that effective implementation of SAATM would lead to better connectivity, economic growth and lower operating costs across the continent.
He added that removing barriers to market access and creating a more integrated African aviation market would provide airlines with greater opportunities to expand their networks while giving passengers more travel options.
The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, is expected to attend as Special Guest of Honour, while the Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Chris Najomo, will be the Guest of Honour.
The former NCAA Director-General, Dr Harold Demuren, who delivered the inaugural SAPTCO Lecture last year, will attend as Father of the Day.