For our Perspectives series, we talk to experienced business aviation industry professionals, who share with us their unique insights and offer a window into their world. This month's interviewee is Dawit Lemma, CEO and founder of Krimson Aviation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He offers us his perspective on the opportunities that lie ahead for business aviation in Africa beyond COVID-19.

“Africa is no stranger to crisis. We have had civil wars, natural disasters, political instability, terrorism and epidemics all figure in our historical landscape. We (and I say ‘we’ acknowledging that Africa consists of some 54 different nations) have navigated our way through multiple challenges, but nothing prepared us for the omnipresent, yet unpredictable novel coronavirus.

The fluidity of the situation was challenging. Pre-pandemic we remained current with the varying regulations of numerous African nations, as well as internationally, but as the pandemic wave swept across the globe these were changing on an hourly basis. Handling flights, fuelling, sourcing permits, arranging tech stops, moving money and managing crew and passenger expectations within the parameters of countries gradually locking down stretched us to our limits.

Krimson Aviation supported repatriation, medevac and cargo operations, handling domestic, intra-and inter-continental flights – and we still are. Our well-trained, dedicated team keeps the lines of communication flowing. By modifying our daily operational workflow and maximising our skillsets we successfully streamlined our operations to support business aviation customers from the government, commercial and humanitarian sectors from around the world. African operators flew the majority of flights during the peak of the pandemic, with a significant proportion originating in southern Africa. This showcases the professionalism of local operators and bodes well for our future. We remain positive about the potential for African business aviation for a number of reasons.

Business and general aviation in Africa are transport pillars that maintain a basic level of mobility and stability for the continent. Activities include: helicopters and emergency services aircraft; medevac operators; freight forwarders; shuttle services to and from remote mining and oil fields; operators flying on behalf of humanitarian agencies; crop dusting and anti-poaching planes; pests and wild-fire spotter aircraft; and traditional business aviation transporting new investors, international heads of state and business executives across the continent. These are all essential for our continent and an integral part of the economic infrastructure which is why we must continue to strengthen our business aviation network.

Commercial air travel will take some time to re-establish networks. Activity will initially return to the major revenue earning destinations like Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Lagos, Cairo, and Nairobi. Lower profile destinations will experience a significant reduction in service, yet still depend on air transport. Pent up demand to move people around for commercial, leisure and personal reasons will increase. In addition, there will be a significant number of passengers seeking safety while travelling, and the advantages of business aviation help mitigate the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus. These needs will create a solid foundation from which to build activity.

Where airlines are operating, interlining has shown that collaboration between business aviation operators and commercial airlines is possible, and indeed desirable. It has revealed to African airlines that business aviation is not a threat to their operations, a common perception in many nations. In fact, it has demonstrated the contrary, business aviation complements commercial aviation and can continue to do so.

The air space closures and restrictions on landing permits has put a significant strain on African CAAs and Air Traffic Control. Traditionally permits have been difficult to obtain yet with less movements processing permits became easier. The paperwork hasn’t changed, but the processing time has reduced. Previously challenging airspaces, i.e. Ethiopia, Somalia, have even streamlined the application process to allow digital applications and processing, which has been a huge help. Long term ease of access to the necessary permits must be facilitated.

We’ve also noted that a number of international and regional operators want to communicate directly with in-situ experts. Requests are still coming through third-party ITPs, but the operators' OCC departments are directly reaching out to the handling agent or flight support company in the countries they are flying to. Correct and timely information is now a valuable commodity and operators want to be assured they are receiving accurate and current info, which is best delivered from those in country. It is critical that we continue to provide this.

We know that it is going to be a long haul to pull back to the promising statistics generated by movements at the start of the year- the first three months of 2020 showed a 50 per cent YOY increase in activity according to figures generated by WingX. There has been a paradigm shift in the perception of what business aviation can offer. African governments have seen its value and must now begin to adjust national legislations and operational restrictions to facilitate sustainable growth of the sector. If the industry and government can effectively communicate and collaborate, we can resurrect African business aviation to an even higher level.”