AFCAC Scribe Explains Why African Air Transport Convention & Expo Held In Lome
The Secretary General of African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), Ms. Adefunke Adeyemi has explained that the just concluded African Air Transport Convention & Expo held at Hotel2Fevrier, Lome Togo from June 15 to 19, 2026 was hosted in Lome because President Faure Gnassingbe is the African Union Champion for Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and has supported the initiative.
Discussions at the convention centred around making air transport more affordable in the continent and actualizing the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) of creating an African market, which SAATM intends to facilitate.
The Lome Ministerial Declaration held on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 also endorsed making air transport affordable, safe and secure alongside reduction in the taxes, charges, and fees that posed as impediment to the sector’s growth for so long.
The convention that featured discussions on acceleration of SAATM implementation highlighted a six months implementation metrics expected to be accounted for before African Heads of States by February 2027.
The African Union has declared 2027 the year of Leveraging The Full Potential of The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) And New Technologies For Continental Integration.
Theme of the Convention & Expo was “One African Sky: Connectivity And Sustainable Air Transport Development”
For the past 15 years, Lome has gradually become a regional hub for ASky airline, which has developed 30 routes, under multiple fifth freedom agreements.
