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LAGOS – African ministers responsible for transport, tourism, trade and finance have adopted the Lomé Ministerial Declaration on Accelerating Accessible, Connected, Affordable and Sustainable Air Transport across Africa, signalling a fresh continental push to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM).
The Declaration was adopted on day two of the inaugural African Air Transport Convention & Expo 2026, organised by the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) and hosted in Lomé by the Government of Togo, the SAATM Champion State.
The event took place under the patronage of Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, who serves as SAATM Champion President, in collaboration with the African Union Commission, the AfCFTA Secretariat and AUDA-NEPAD.
AFCAC Secretary General Adefunke Adeyemi, who read out the Declaration, said it was essential that Africa be “capacitated and strengthened in terms of the institutional ability” to carry out implementation work as the executing agency for SAATM and the Yamoussoukro Decision.
She added that the Declaration was also meant to capture outstanding concerns around market access, high costs, transportation bottlenecks, regulatory gaps and financing constraints that had not been fully addressed in earlier rounds.
Seven Priority Areas
According to Adeyemi, the Declaration sets out seven major priority areas: accelerating SAATM implementation; reducing costs and expanding connectivity; seamless mobility, facilitation and infrastructure; sustainability, innovation and human capital; safety, security and regulatory capacity; strengthening AFCAC and sustainable delivery; and alignment with the African Union’s 2027 theme, alongside monitoring and partnerships.
Ministers described air transport as a strategic enabler of continental integration, trade, tourism, investment, industrialisation, regional value chains and people-to-people connectivity, stressing the need to move “from political commitment to measurable implementation.”
Ministers reaffirmed full implementation of SAATM as a priority continental agenda, pledging to remove restrictive market access barriers, liberalise air services, align bilateral air services agreements with SAATM principles, and improve administrative predictability for airline designation, authorisation and route approvals.
One of the headline outcomes was the launch of this resource mobilisation initiative, designed to strengthen AFCAC’s capacity to support member states and accelerate SAATM implementation through direct financial resourcing, technical assistance, in-kind support, capacity-building, tools and project-based support delivered transparently and accountably.
Cutting Costs
Ministers acknowledged that high aviation taxes, fees and operational bottlenecks inflate travel and freight costs, suppress demand and weaken route viability.
They endorsed the Continental Harmonised Policy Framework on Aviation Taxes, Charges and Fees as a guiding instrument and committed to coordinated action across transport, finance, tourism and aviation authorities to rationalise excessive charges.
Cargo and trade corridors. The Declaration backs intra-African air cargo corridor development aligned with AfCFTA value chains, alongside stronger collaboration among airports, airlines, regulators and financiers to support route development and secondary city connectivity.
Ministers committed to improving visa openness, passenger experience, cargo clearance, digital travel systems and border management to reduce processing delays.
The Declaration calls for bankable aviation infrastructure projects covering airports, air navigation systems, cargo facilities and safety and security systems.
Ministers pledged support for Africa’s participation in producing and deploying Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Lower Carbon Aviation Fuels, alongside enabling policy frameworks and financing mechanisms.
Innovation and Human Capital
Commitments include digital transformation, aviation data systems, and priority attention to the next generation of aviation professionals, with emphasis on women and youth participation.
Ministers reaffirmed that liberalisation must be matched by strong safety, security, regulatory oversight, consumer protection and fair competition.
To ensure accountability, the Declaration tasks AFCAC – working with the African Union Commission, AfCFTA Secretariat, AUDA-NEPAD, Regional Economic Communities and member states – with coordinating follow-up and preparing a post-Lomé implementation roadmap detailing priority actions, responsible institutions, timelines, resource needs and reporting arrangements.
Development finance institutions, airlines, airports, private investors and technology providers were also invited to support implementation.
