Africa, home to roughly one-fifth of the world’s population, accounts for just 3% of global air transport activity. That imbalance between demographic weight and air connectivity has long been cited as a constraint on the continent’s economic integration. The gap is gradually narrowing, however, under the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), an initiative led by the African Union (AU) and the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC).
A liberalisation programme eight years in the making
SAATM was launched in 2018 under the AU’s Agenda 2063 framework, with the aim of creating a unified continental air services market. Its core objective is to grow regional traffic by removing bureaucratic barriers — chiefly by simplifying mutual market access for carriers from participating states.
The mechanism rests on several regulatory shifts. Airlines from member states gain the right to operate between any two points within other participating countries’ territory, without requiring additional bilateral air service agreements. Capacity restrictions on flight frequencies and passenger volumes are removed in parallel, giving carriers more flexibility to respond to demand. As traffic expands under the programme, pressure on airport and air navigation infrastructure has correspondingly increased.
Connectivity climbs, but implementation remains uneven
Thirty-eight states have joined SAATM to date, together accounting for more than 80% of intra-African air traffic. Continental connectivity has risen from 14.5% to 23%, with 124 new routes launched, including 19 fifth-freedom services allowing carriers to transport passengers between third countries. Passenger volumes have surpassed 3 million; the aviation sector now supports an estimated 8.1 million jobs and contributes more than $75bn to the continental economy. Intra-African tourism reached around 81 million trips in 2025, a figure closely tied to improved air links.
Implementation, though, is far from uniform. Some states continue to shield national carriers through protective measures, while divergent safety oversight and certification frameworks complicate mutual market access. Many airports and air traffic management systems remain unprepared for the pace of traffic growth, and underinvestment in ground infrastructure and fleet renewal continues to slow progress. Participating states also sit at different stages of integration — some have opened their markets fully, others retain significant barriers.
Russia eyes direct routes and infrastructure partnerships
The emergence of a unified African aviation space is opening several potential avenues for industrial cooperation with Russia, with the next Russia–Africa summit — set for October 28-29, 2026 in Moscow — expected to provide a forum for discussion. Chief among these is the prospect of direct routes between Russia and key East and Southern African markets such as South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Such links could boost tourism and business travel while simplifying logistics for Russian companies already operating in the region.
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Within the existing route network, Egypt remains by far the most developed corridor, driven largely by mass-market tourism. Charter services continue to Tunisia, while other routes are expanding more gradually: Morocco increased frequencies on the Casablanca–Moscow route in 2026 and added a new link to St Petersburg; Ethiopian Airlines continues to serve as the principal transit operator via Addis Ababa for onward connections across the continent; and Air Tanzania has launched direct flights from Moscow to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. Most other African destinations remain accessible from Russia only via connecting hubs in Cairo, Addis Ababa, Doha and the UAE.
Beyond connectivity: a growing market for MRO and ATM systems
Expanding direct connectivity, however, is unlikely to be the only axis of cooperation. As SAATM liberalisation proceeds, demand is set to grow not only for aircraft but for the wider operational ecosystem — maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), personnel training, air navigation services, ground infrastructure and air traffic management (ATM) systems. This segment is emerging as a parallel track for cooperation between Russia and African states, centred on infrastructure and technology solutions that support sustainable scaling of air services.
Russian systems integrator Azimut is positioning itself in this space, supplying navigation, landing, surveillance, communication and ATM automation systems. The company’s projects extend beyond the domestic market into the CIS and a number of international markets, including Egypt, Germany, Indonesia and South Korea, combining equipment supply with commissioning and personnel training. That track record, the company argues, allows it to export an integrated model of technical support rather than standalone systems.
Fleet renewal hinges on lifecycle support, not just aircraft sales
Alongside infrastructure cooperation and the ongoing certification of new Russian aircraft types, opportunities are also emerging around fleet renewal for African carriers. Rising flight frequencies and intensifying competition under SAATM liberalisation are placing pressure on existing fleets, pushing operators toward more efficient aircraft and better-supported maintenance arrangements. Aircraft procurement in this environment is increasingly shaped not by aircraft sales alone, but by how well a platform integrates into a carrier’s broader operations.
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Financing availability, service infrastructure and after-sales support models are becoming as important as aircraft performance itself. Russia’s experience marketing regional jets, including the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100), illustrates the point: in several markets, the limiting factor has not been demand for the airframe itself, but lifecycle conditions — financing, maintenance and operational readiness over the aircraft’s service life.
A systems-based approach may define competitiveness
Cooperation under the SAATM framework therefore looks likely to centre on integrated offerings — combining financing mechanisms, aircraft delivery, after-sales support and localised service capabilities — rather than isolated transactions. For Russian industry, this presents an opportunity to engage with Africa’s emerging transport architecture not merely as a supplier of individual products, but as a longer-term partner in the sector’s development. As SAATM expands, the ability to offer that kind of systems-based proposition — spanning infrastructure, operations and fleet renewal — may prove decisive for the competitiveness of Russian projects on the continent.
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