EAST AFRICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL PUBLISHES FIRST AVIATION GUIDE BOOK
(Posted 14th June 2014)
The East African Business Council, the private sector apex body for the East African trade associations from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi and Tanzania, has yesterday launched their first even aviation publication, covering airlines and aviation infrastructure across the region.
The 34 page booklet can be accessed and read / downloaded via the following link: http://issuu.com/safari-communications/docs/eabc_aviation_handbook_2014
Aviation has been in the limelight of late in the region as top dog Kenya Airways has added state of the art new aircraft to their fleet, the B787-8 Dreamliner and the B777-300ER while RwandAir has over the past two years emerged as a serious contender with acquisitions of a fleet of brand new Boeing and Bombardier aircraft, emerging as a hub airline connecting the continent from East to South to West.
The launch of the region’s first true low cost carriers, Fastjet in Tanzania and Jambojet in Kenya marked the start of ‘democratizing’ air travel, making flights affordable for a new market segment, as long as one books well in advance and does not expect freebies on board. Alongside is the airport infrastructure being upgraded with major works ongoing at Kilimanjaro International Airport, Julius Nyerere International Airport and several smaller airports across Tanzania while in Kenya Kisumu and Malindi have been expanded in recent times. The region’s largest aviation hub, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is also undergoing a dramatic transformation, as the new Terminal 4 is nearing completion, a new temporary terminal is being constructed and the entire arrival section being rebuilt following a major fire in August last year. The most important change however is the addition of a second runway for JKIA and the start of construction of ‘Project Greenfield’, a new state of the art mega terminal which will triple capacity when complete by 2018. That year should also see the inauguration of the new international airport at Bugesera outside Kigali bringing aviation infrastructure at the key airports across East Africa into the 21st century with state of the are facilities. Watch this space for breaking and regular aviation news from Eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands.
