(Posted 05th December 2022)
The Republic of Madagascar has entrusted, for a period of 28 years from December 23, 2016, a concession to Ravinala Airports. The agreement was signed on October 16, 2015, to operate the international airports of Antananarivo and Nosy Be.
This also includes the financing, design and implementation of the Investment Program, provision of Airport Services, maintenance and renewal of concession assets, obligations relating to reserved activities and other activities.
Since the beginning of the concession, Ravinala Airports as concessionaire of the international airports of Antananarivo and Nosy Be, has implemented all actions for the development of air connectivity of these two airports through:
Prospections for new airlines and the promotion of the destination and partnership with local stakeholders
(CTM, ONTM, ACM, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Transport and Meteorology and others).
In the context of air traffic rebound after the COVID 19 pandemic and in order to improve the connectivity of its airports and relaunch Madagascar as a tourism destination and upcoming destination in the Indian Ocean, Ravinala Airports is setting up the incentive program for “new routes”:
The objective of this programme is to encourage and support the launch of new international and regional routes departing from TNR and NOS airports and to support the establishment of new routes and airlines at these airports.
1. Incentives for new routes
The objectives of the scheme put in place by the Concessionaire will therefore be to:
1. Increase the competitiveness of the international airports of Antananarivo and Nosy Be,
2. Offer better connectivity from TNR and NOS,
3. Share the risks with airlines willing to invest in Madagascar.
Principles and eligibility criteria for the new routes incentive program
? The incentive is only applicable to new international and regional routes. In order to be considered as a “new route”, it is necessary to fulfill the following three conditions:
– Connect TNR or NOS to an international or regional destination (domestic destinations are excluded)
– Connect TNR or NOS to a destination which was not already connected to TNR or NOS between January 01, 2018 and December 31, 2022. – The route must be operated non-stop to the new destination (direct transit is accepted during which passengers and cargo are neither “embarked” nor “disembarked”, but remain in direct transit).
Additional conditions are:
? The route must be launched between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2023.
? The route must be operated with a minimum of 60 flights per year (i.e. over a period of 12 months from the first launch flight in 2023)
? The offer per flight must not be less than 90 seats
? The airline must not have debts due for more than 3 months with the concessionaire, throughout the duration of the “new routes” incentive program (unless otherwise granted by the concessionaire on the basis of a commitment to pay overdue debts)
? A route may be served by more than one airline, but each airline and each route will be subject to a separate contract. In the event that an airline launches several new routes, the flight frequencies will not be cumulative on all the new routes for a given period.
? To be eligible, an airline already serving TNR and/or NOS must bring an incremental number of passengers to the Concessionaire compared to its passenger traffic for the year 2022.
Bonus 1: bonus on the promotion of the destination
As a player and contributor to the growth of tourism in Madagascar, Ravinala Airports offers a bonus intended to increase the visibility of the destination, and rewarding the airlines which will allocate a budget to the promotion and marketing of the new route.
Principles and eligibility criterias:
To benefit from this bonus, the airline must be eligible for the criteria of the “new routes” incentive program (see point 1.)
• The eligible airline must provide evidence of the amount allocated to marketing actions at the end of each 12-months period to promote the new route from TNR or NOS
• On a “Fundmatching” principle, Ravinala Airports will provide the airline with an additional discount, equivalent to the amount allocated to the airline’s marketing actions and within the limit of 15% of the “threshold” amount.
• This bonus must also be used for marketing actions to promote the new route
Bonus 2: bonus on the use of new generation aircraft
In order to increase competitiveness and its commitment as an airport operator whose objective is to reduce the carbon footprint of air transport, Ravinala Airports will offer additional discounts to airlines that operate the new routes only with aircrafts known as “new generation” aircrafts.
Principles and eligibility criteria:
To benefit from this bonus, the airline must be eligible for the criteria of the “new routes” incentive program (see point 1.)
– The eligible new generation aircrafts must be from the following exhaustive list:
o Airbus A350
o Boeing B787
o Boeing B777X
o Airbus 330 Neo
o Airbus A32X Neo
o Boeing 737X Max
o Embraer 195 E-2
o Airbus A220
– At least 80% of the frequencies of the new route must be operated with one
of the aircraft mentioned above.
The new incentive scheme shows a renewed intent to promote tourism, which as an island destination depends largely on air transport, though cruise tourism has been in place before the C19 pandemic and is also slowly returning.
Madagascar is a member of the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands marketing organisation.
