African civil aviation will be entering a new era with the formulation of an African civil aviation policy. The draft policy was validated by a special working group at a workshop in Addis Ababa on 2 November 2011.

The working group, set up by the African Union for this very purpose, agreed on the terms of the draft policy after making a number of amendments. At the same meeting, they discussed the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision, a framework aiming to improve African countries’ air safety and economic growth by opening up local air service markets to foreign operators.

Workshop participants stressed the need for clear indicators specific to the African context and which could be implemented easily by the signatory countries.

The views and comments feed into a study on the continental evaluation of the Decision’s implementation with a view to finalising the text.

Both documents were tabled for adoption at the Conference of African Transport Ministers in Luanda, Angola, from 21 to 25 November 2011, where steps towards a speedier implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision were also up for discussion.

The workshop was held under the chairmanship of the African Union Commission.