Africa will need 14,500 new pilots and 16,200 technicians through 2031 Read more

“To transport one container from China to Ethiopia is almost triple the cost of sending a container from China to Brazil,” Liu Jiang, a general manager with Lifan, a Chinese automobile manufacturer, told Africa in Fact, a publication of Good Governance Africa, an advocacy group. In general, shipping goods to Africa is not expensive; it’s the inland transport costs that send the bill skyrocketing.


"Because of poor safety records, African airlines often face higher leasing costs than other carriers. According to The Economist, a European airline, for example, could be charged $180,000 a month to lease a five-year-old Boeing 737, but a Nigerian carrier could be slapped with a bill of up to $400,000."

"“African airlines have to raise their game and their remuneration packages to retain pilots, engineers, cabin crew, and airline managers,” says Mike Higgins, IATA Regional Vice President for Africa. Ethiopian Airlines, for instance, is handling it creatively. “Instead of complaining, why don’t we train enough people not only for our airline but also for the region?” Tewolde Gebremariam, the airlines’ chief executive officer told Airlines International, an IATA publication. His airline has expanded intake at the Ethiopian Aviation Academy in Addis Ababa from 200 to 1,000 students per year."

" Boeing, a US aircraft manufacturer, estimates that Africa will need 14,500 new pilots and 16,200 technicians through 2031, according to IATA"