The yellow fever headache: Yellow Fever Vaccinations Requirements in Africa

The yellow fever headache: Yellow Fever Vaccinations Requirements in Africa

For those who have been following news of late, you have probably seen the row between Nigeria and South Africa after some 150 Nigerians were deported from South Africa for allegedly carrying fake yellow fever certificates, an action that prompted retaliatory deportations of South Africans from Nigeria's Murtala Muhammad International Airport.

Yellow fever endemic areas in Africa: If you come from Africa's yellow fever belt, you will always need a yellow fever certificate to travel to almost every African country. Please review the list below for the various requirements on yellow fever vaccinations.

 Many countries still require travelers moving into their countries from countries with risks of transmission to carry yellow fever certificates.

 The countries in Africa considered to be high risk due to high incidences of yellow fever infections include Tanzania, Somalia and Sao Tome and Principe. If you have stayed overnight or longer in these countries, then a yellow fever vaccination will be mandatory as you travel to other countries. 
Vaccination certificates requirements of countries are published by the World Health Organization and it's important for all travellers to carefully review these requirements and get the necessary vaccinations to avoid getting stuck at the airport.  It's also important for travellers to get vaccinated at any of the WHO designated yellow fever vaccinating centres to avoid running into problems over "fake" yellow fever certificates. Sometimes, a naive traveller might decide to take a vaccine at their local hospital, while the vaccine might be valid, the centre and certificate are probably not recognized and designated by WHO and some immigration officials will not recognize such yellow fever certificates and many of them will not bear a stamp in such cases. Always ensure your yellow fever certificate is STAMPED by the authority administering the vaccination. A yellow fever certificate without a stamp will not be considered valid by many authorities and often results in deportations.

A stamped Yellow Fever Certificate

Once administered, a yellow fever vaccine is valid or 10 years! It will be a decade before you are required to take another vaccine so this is not really an inconvenience for travellers frequently hoping from one country to another. Th ey ellow fever jab is however not recommended for those  over the age of  65. So please take your yellow fever vaccines properly and avoid putting your governments at loggerheads :)

Some of the African countries where yellow fever certificates are required include:

• Angola: Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate Required for ALL travelers over 1 year old. It's also recommended for your own safety to take a Yellow Fever vaccine when visiting Angola as the country is still considered a yellow fever risk due to incidences of the disease in recent years.
• Algeria: Yellow Fever Vaccination required for all travelers over 1 year old arriving from countries with yellow fever infection. Algeria has no yellow fever risks and yellow fever vaccinations not recommended if you are coming from a country that's yellow fever free.
• Benin: A yellow fever certificate is required for ALL travelers over 1 year old. It's also highly recommended for travellers coming from the yellow fever free countries to take the vaccine due to risk of infection.
• Botswana:  A yellow fever vaccination is required for travelers over 1 year of age arriving from or having passed from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Travelers from countries that are yellow fever are free do not have to worry as there is no risk for yellow fever transmission in Botswana.
• Burkina Faso: A yellow fever vaccination is required from ALL travelers over 1 year of age. There is also risk of yellow fever transmission in Burkina Faso so it's in the travelers' best interest to ensure they get a yellow a fever vaccine before traveling to Burkina Faso.
• Burundi: A Yellow fever vaccination is required for all travellers over 1 year of age. It's also highly recommended fr travellers to take an initiative to get the vaccine since Burundi is considered by the WHO as having a risk of yellow fever transmission.
• Cameroon: Yellow fever vaccinations required for all travellers over 1 year of age. It's also highly recommended for travellers entering Cameroon to get a yellow fever vaccination due to risk of transmission.
• Central African Republic: Yellow vaccination required for all travellers over 1 year of age. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Chad: A yellow fever vaccination is required from travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers to get the vaccine due to risk of transmission in Chad.
• Cape Verde: A Yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Travellers from countries with no risk of yellow fever transmission do not need yellow fever certificates.
• Comoros: No yellow fever vaccination requirements.
• Congo: Yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Cote d'Ivoire: Yellow fever vaccination certificates required from all travellers over 1 year of age. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Yellow vaccine required from all travellers over 1 year of age. Yellow vaccine highly recommended for travellers over 9months old except under the following conditions: Generally, a yellow fever vaccine is not recommended for a traveller whose itinerary is limited the DR Congo's Katanga Province.
• Djibouti: A yellow fever vaccine is required from all travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission.
• Egypt: A Yellow fever vaccination is required from travellers arriving from countries with high risk of yellow fever transmission. All arrivals from Sudan are required to possess either a vaccination certificate or a location certificate issued by a Sudanese official centre stating that they have not been in Sudan south of 15°N within the previous 6 days. Travellers from countries with no yellow fever risk do not have to worry about yellow fever vaccinations.
• Equitorial Guinea: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from countries wit risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Eritrea: Country requirement: a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission.  Generally not recommended1 for travellers going to the following states: Anseba, Debub, Gash Barka, Mae Kel and Semenawi Keih Bahri.
  Not recommended for all other areas not listed above, including the islands of the Dahlak Archipelagos (Map). 
• Ethiopia: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers aged 9 months and over  to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in some areas of the country. Generally not recommended1 for travellers whose itineraries are limited to the Afar and Somali provinces (Map).
• Gabon: A yellow fever vaccination certificate  is required for all travellers over 1 year of age. Highly recommended for travellers aged 9 months and over  to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Gambia: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all passengers arriving from countries wit risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers  to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in some areas of the country.
• Ghana: A yellow fever vaccination is required from all travellers over 9 months of age. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Guinea: A yellow fever vaccination is required from all travellers over 1 year arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Guinea Bissau: A yellow fever vaccine is required from all travellers over 1 year of age. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Kenya: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Lesotho: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Lesotho has low potential for exposure and a yellow fever vaccine is not recommended for travellers staying in the country. Travellers from countries with no risk of yellow fever transmission do not require yellow fever certificates.
• Liberia: A yellow fever vaccination is required from all travellers over 1 year of age. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Libya:  A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Libya has very low potential for exposure to yellow fever and a yellow fever vaccination is not recommended for travellers from countries with no risk of yellow fever transmission.
• Madagascar: A yellow fever vaccination is required from all travellers from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Madagascar has low potential for infection and a yellow fever vaccination is not recommended for travellers staying in the country from regions with no risk of yellow fever transmission.
• Malawi: A yellow fever vaccination is required from all travellers from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Malawi is another low potential country and a yellow fever vaccination is not recommended from travellers staying in the country from regions with no risk of yellow fever transmission.
• Maldives: Not really country in Africa but pretty close to the Africa Region. A yellow fever vaccination is required from all travellers from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. The vaccination is not recommended for visitors staying in the country as there is no risk of yellow fever transmission in the Maldives.
• Mali: A yellow fever vaccination is required from all travellers over 1 year of age. Recommended for all travellers aged 9 months and over going to the areas South of the Sahara Desert.
• Mauritania: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Recommended for all travellers aged 9 months or over travelling to areas south of the Sahara Desert (Map). Not recommended for travellers whose itineraries are limited to areas in the Sahara Desert (Map).
• Mauritius: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Not recommended for visitors from countries with no risk of yellow fever transmission as there's no risk of yellow fever transmission in Mauritius.
• Mayotte: Yellow fever vaccination certificate is not required.
• Morocco: Yellow fever vaccination certificate is not required. Yellow fever vaccination not recommended for travellers as there's no risk of transmission.
• Mozambique: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Yellow fever vaccination not recommended for travellers who do not pose a yellow fever risk  i.e. from countries with no risk of yellow fever vaccination.
• Namibia: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. The countries, or parts of countries, included in the endemic zones in Africa and South America are regarded as areas with risk of yellow fever transmission.
  Travellers who are on scheduled flights that originated outside the countries with risk of yellow fever transmission, but who have been in transit through these areas, are not required to possess a certificate provided that they remained at the scheduled airport or in the adjacent town during transit. All travellers whose flights originated in countries with risk of yellow fever transmission or who have been in transit through these countries on unscheduled flights are required to possess a certificate. The certificate is not insisted upon in the case of children under 1 year of age, but such infants may be subject to surveillance. Yellow fever vaccination not recommended for travellers who do not pose a yellow fever risk  i.e. from countries with no risk of yellow fever vaccination.
• Niger: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers over 1 year of age and recommended for travellers departing Niger. Recommended for all travellers aged 9 months or over travelling to areas south of the Sahara Desert (Map). Not recommended for travellers whose itineraries are limited to areas in the Sahara Desert (Map).
• Nigeria: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Reunion: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Yellow fever vaccination not recommended for travellers who do not pose a yellow fever risk  i.e. from countries with no risk of yellow fever vaccination as Reunion has no risk of yellow fever transmission.
• Rwanda: Yellow fever vaccination required from all travellers over 1 year of age. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Sao Tome and Principe: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers over
  1 year of age.
• Senegal: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 9 months of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Seychelles:  A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 9 months of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. No yellow fever risk in the country so a vaccination is not recommended for those from countries not placed under the mandatory yellow vaccination requirement.
• Sierra Leone: A yellow fever vaccination is required from all travellers. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Somalia: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Generally not recommended for travellers going to the following regions: Bakool, Banaadir, Bay, Gado, Galgadud, Hiran, Lower Juba, Middle Juba, Lower Shabelle and Middle Shabelle (Map). Not recommended for all other areas not listed above. 
• South Africa: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Generally not recommended for travellers from countries with no risk of transmission as South Africa is generally a very low risk(no risk) area for yellow  fever transmission. 
• Sudan: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 9 months of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. A certificate may be required from travellers departing Sudan. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Swaziland: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Like South Africa, Swaziland has no risk of yellow fever transmission hence a yellow fever vaccination is not recommended unless it's a mandatory requirement for your country.
• Tanzania: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission.
  
• Togo: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from all travellers over 1 year of age. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Tunisia: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. A yellow fever vaccination is not recommended unless it's a mandatory requirement for your country as Tunisia has no risk of transmission.
• Uganda: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 1 year of age arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Highly recommended for travellers to ensure they take yellow fever vaccine due to risk of transmission in the country.
• Zambia: Yellow fever vaccination certificate not required.
• Zimbabwe: A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers arriving from countries with risk of yellow fever transmission. Zimbabwe, like South Africa has no risk has no of yellow fever transmission and a vaccination is not recommended unless it's mandatory for your country.
  

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South Africa: Five ACSA employees fired over luggage theft

South Africa: Five ACSA employees fired over luggage theft

The Airports Company of South Africa(ACSA) has fired five employees in the last week over luggage theft at the OR Tambo International Airport.


The employees were caught red-handed after a recent security upgrade at the airport.
“ACSA is pulling out all the stops to combat luggage theft. Incidents of luggage theft and tampering have dropped by one third over the past two years,” Assistant general manager of airport operations Tebogo Mekgoe told media.

He said ACSA spent about R7.2 million a year on luggage security measures.

Luggage Tampered with at the airport

 Incidents of luggage tampering at the airport have declined from 18 out of 1000 passengers who departed in January 2010, to 10,4 out of 1000, a year later.

 Los Angeles and London Heathrow Airport are some of the worst airports in the world with highest incidents of luggage theft and tampering.

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South African President Zuma travels with two "shadow jets"

South African President Zuma travels with two "shadow jets"

The issue of travel by Presidents in Africa is always a source of hot debate. Many will not fly commercial(even if their national carriers fly to the destinations of state visit. Is a first class cabin "too low" for an African President?) and prefer commandeering national airlines, many buy business jets for their travel while some use charter services, all three options on the sweat and toil and of taxpayers.

Recently, South African President  flew to the United States with two back-up aircraft used to "shadow" the President's Boeing Business Jet ("Inkwazi"). The two back-up aircraft were used as backup in case mechanical failures were experienced by the presidential jet. The South African authorities are also busy shopping for additional business jets for use by the President and his VP.

The Inkwazi: South African Presidential Jet. Are more business jets necessary for South African leaders?

The government justifies this expense as a consequence of South Africa's increasing international obligations and stature in the world. According to South African Airforce Lieutenant General Carlo Gagiano,  the requirements(for international travel) had changed vastly since 1994 when the SAAF had only operated two aircraft for VIP transport to a limited number of international engagements. He pointed out that South Africa had considerably more international obligations as far afield as Australia and the United States. Being able to get leaders to high-profile engagements on time was a matter of national prestige.

The question now becomes, should President Zuma be making all these international trips? What's the value add to the South African economy and society? Could a foreign Minister not undertake some of these roles? It's question South Africans will have to ask their government, especially if domestic economic and social conditions are not moving in congruence with South Africa's new "international standing".

Perhaps, it's time to adopt fiscal responsibility and move away from the vestiges of the past...perhaps borrow a lesson  from David Cameron, leader of much more developed and richer country with even bigger international obligations, who traveled to South Africa on a scheduled commercial flight during his state visit.

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South Africa's Velvet Sky Airlines Grounded due to Financial Problems

South Africa's Velvet Sky Airlines Grounded due to Financial Problems

There is a rumour milling about that South Africa's LCC Velvet Sky has been hit by a severe cash crisis and there's a possibility that airline might shut down soon due to failure in paying outstanding debts. The airline is said to have run into heavy debts with aviation service providers in South Africa including SwissPort.

Several flights were delayed indefinitely by the airline on Friday and irate passengers were kept on the wait throughout the day. The airline grounded its fleet after failing to pay fees to South African Technical (SAT), a 100%-owned subsidiary of South African Airways (SAA), and is used to repair and maintain the fleet of SAA, Comair (Kulula and British Airways South Africa), Kulula airline, KLM and Air France) amongst others.

Chairman of Velvet Sky, Cecil Reddy, following the launch of Velvet Sky Airlines flights in March  last year

Last week, the airline ditched flights to the Polokwane International Airport with the intention of cancelling its controversial agreement with the Gateway Airport Authority Limited (GAAL). According to the airline spin, the flights were cancelled for "ethical" reasons following a preferential treatment afforded Velvet Sky by the Limpopo authorities exempting the airline from paying Passenger Service Charges. The airline apparently cancelled the flights to protect its "brand image".

Flights to Polokwane wee launched only three months ago and the abrupt cancellation was the first signal to observers that the airline was facing financial difficulties.

According to a source, shortly after Velvet’s landing, its deal with GAAL, the state authority charged with overseeing the management of Limpopo’s airports, became embroiled in controversy. In October, GAAL had offered Velvet preferential concessions that would exempt the airliner from paying certain airport charges. The concessions were understood to be necessary in order to make the route economically viable for Velvet Sky while bringing increasing tourism and business traffic to the Limpopo province, something that was encouraged by Limpopo government officials, keen on giving the province's economy a shot in the arm.

However, SA Airlink - previously the only airliner to run scheduled flights into Polokwane – was not offered the same privileges and the concessions, bringing the legality of the deal between GAAL and Velvet Sky  under question. Citing concerns over its agreement with GAAL, Velvet Sky has now unceremoniously left the building, vacating its offices and pulling its staff from the airport over the weekend.

Travelers to the Limpopo province can once again brace themselves for high fares as SA Airlink regains its monopoly on the route. I might be wrong but Velvet Sky is an airline which will soon drop off the skies.

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Top Online Travel Booking Websites in South Africa

Top Online Travel Booking Websites in South Africa

South Africa's commercial aviation industry has many things going in the right direction, from investments and emergence of a vibrant LCC market segment to a thriving online travel marketplace. South African travel  industry got a huge  boost from the World Cup 2010 which positioned South Africa as a top travel destination with World Class infrastructure. The country now receives an estimated 860,000 visitors per month out of which some 200,000 come outside the African continent.

South African Online Travel Market

An estimated 10% of South Africans now travel by air each year or roughly 5 million people. There are also an estimated 6 million South Africans who are now online, and online shopping is now the latest craze in the country with several online shopping and deal buying websites springing up. In the recent years, there has been a surge in online shopping trends in South Africa.  One of the main reasons for this trend is that goods sold online are generally much cheaper and consumers are now forced to look to the internet for savings.

South Africa's Online retailer Kalahari has an estimated 1 million registered users and is the country's biggest online retailer. We can safely use this figure to generalize that the online shopping industry in the country has grown in leaps and bounds in the last few years. We can safely assume that out of South Africa's 6 million internet users, over one million shop online or are aware of online shopping trends and portals.

When it comes to travel, the largest online retailer is undoubtedly South Africa's LCC Kulula. Kulula's online retail portal Kulula Travel generated an estimated R2 billion($250 million) in revenues in 2008 from 650,000 unique browsers per month, a figure that has since grown to ZAR2.5 billion($300 million).



Local Players in the Online Travel market in South Africa
Reaping the dividends of the past few years, the country has developed lots of homegrown online travel websites fare comparison engines and flight finder engines. So instead of Opodo, Expedia, eDreams, you can now access hundreds of South Africa's homegrown flight and fare finders.

Of course the huge competition means you might be spoilt for choice in what tools to use to locate the cheapest flights to the rainbow nation. Online booking websites make travel that much easier for you and here are some of South Africa's top online travel booking websites:

Flight Centre : One of the largest online travel and travel booking websites in South Africa. Founded in the UK in 1972, the Flight Centre South African outfit began operations in 1995. Flight Centre offers some of the lowest discount airfares.

SAFlights.co.za : A one stop resource for Comparison Flight Bookings, Accommodation and Car Hire in South Africa. Offers flight fare comparison for the six different airlines which offer domestic flights in South Africa.

BestFlights.co.za :Website compares flight prices on over 25 international airlines that offer international flights from South Africa.

South Africa Travel Online: One stop travel website dedicated to South Africa. South African travel - flight, car rental & hotel price comparisons, specials and reservations. Hot Air ballooning, overland safaris & cruises.

Travel.co.za : started in 1999 as a specialist online travel company with the TOURVEST group and over the years it has quietly gone about it's business of providing a variety of services and products to it's South African clientele.


Flightsite.co.za : FlightSite is a comprehensive website, which allows you to plan your holiday in detail, according to your specific needs. This easily accessible website displays a wide variety of flights, accommodation and package options, all at great prices, for you to choose from.


StaTravel.co.za STA Travel offer cheap flights, student flights, discounted student and youth travel, working holidays, cheap hotel and hostel bookings, travel insurance, discount cards and special offers on tours and packages.


DomesticFlights.co.za:  Allows you to search the cheapest domestic flights in South Africa, compare fares and book.


Lastsecond.co.za : South Africa travel website for cheap "last second" travel offers. Coming Soon. 


Which is your favourite? Do you know of a popular online travel booking or fare comparison website in South Africa that we might have left out? Comments are welcome.


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Santaco Airlines: South Africa's Taximen take to the Skies

Santaco Airlines: South Africa's Taximen take to the Skies

Johannesburg - The South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) is launching a low-cost airline, Santaco Airlines.

"I can see some of you rolling your eyes because of how our taxi drivers drive... I can assure you we won't allow our taxi drivers to drive [the planes]," Santaco business development officer Nkululeko Buthelezi told potential investors and reporters in Johannesburg.


The Santaco Express would be officially launched on September 16 and would take to the skies by November, he said.

Buthelezi said Santaco was looking at routes such as Lanseria to Bhisho, which made sense for its customers who often made a 14-hour road trip for a funeral only to return five hours later.

'City in a bush'Santaco Express would initially operate one or two flights a day between Lanseria in Gauteng to Bhisho in the Eastern Cape, and then on to the Cape Town International Airport.

It would be operated by Air Aquarius, which works with SA Express and SA Airlink. Air Aquarius would supply 100-seater aircraft, crew and the necessary aviation licences.

Santaco president AJ Mthembu said the aviation model would work as commuters would be taken from the taxi rank to the airport, then transported to a taxi rank at their destination.

"Our potential is to make a bush into a city," he said, explaining that the airline would focus on regional airports.

"We specialise in awkward areas because that's where our business is."

One price for everything

Mthembu said the cost of the ticket - from taxi rank to rank - had yet to be finalised, but Santaco was looking at between R500 and R600.

"We will be building everything into one price in the affordable sector," he said.

The airline would undertake a dry run on September 16, when Santaco would fly members from Lanseria to Durban for its 10th anniversary celebration.

 It would open ticket sales immediately after this, with the first commercial flights late in November just in time for the heavy December holiday traffic, Buthelezi said.

Air Aquarius would hand over skills to Santaco and in 18 to 24 months, the taxi association expected to take over the aviation operation, he said.

South Africa and Cameroon sign Bilateral Air services Agreement

South Africa and Cameroon sign Bilateral Air services Agreement

South Africa today signed a groundbreaking bilateral air services agreement with Cameroon which will help further open up the African skies to flying. The agreement was signed on the final day of the Transport Infrastructure conference at the Cape Town Convention Centre.

It is the first such agreement to be signed in line with the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999, which aims to deregulate air services on the African continent. The bilateral agreement allows South African airlines to fly to Cameroon and take on passengers and fly on to second or third countries.

Currently, South African Airways (SAA) flies four times a week, direct from Johannesburg to Douala and Yaounde, while Kenya Airways also has a connection from Johannesburg to Cameroon via Nairobi.

At present, certain parts of Africa can only be reached from flights routed via Europe. "This makes no business or economic sense, and the peoples and economies of Africa suffer as a consequence, and opportunities for improved aviation, including profitability and development of tourism, cannot be effectively responded to," said the South African Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele

He pointed out that the EU had implemented an open skies policy in the mid 1990s, which after five years resulted in a doubling of the number of passengers carried by airlines, a reduction in air fares and an improvement in the profitability of airlines.

"There has to be a message in this for African aviation, and the sooner we understand the consequences of lost opportunities the better," said Cameroonian Minister Bello Bouba "It's only through connectivity that our freedom will be complete and make way for development of our dear continent, Africa," he said.

Bello Bouba said he looked forward to maximum exploitation of the air routes, with the country's new national airline Camair-Co recently having started operations in March. His hope is that Cameroon and South Africa would also be able to co-operate in other transport sectors in the future.

The Africa Aviation ICT Forum Kicks Off in Johannesburg

The Africa Aviation ICT Forum Kicks Off in Johannesburg

A notable event will kick off in Johannesburg South Africa in a few hours’ time at the Protea Hotel Balalaika Sandton: The Africa Aviation ICT Forum that will bring together aviation ICT professionals from across the continent to discuss very interesting issues on aviation and information technology in Africa. If you work in an airline Information Services Department, this is definitely a conference for you! The conference is intended for CIOs and IT managers in the aviation industry.


The event will be hosted by the African Airlines Association, SITA and the Airports Council International (ACI) so expect the who’s who’s of African aviation at this meeting. This leading pan-industry event provides a unique opportunity to identify and understand the trends that will shape the airline business, focusing on the transformational role that technology can play.

Top level industry speakers will discuss such key issues as: Passenger management, Airline business transformation, Airport management and infrastructure Air traffic management and transportation security
IT managers will learn how new technologies and lifestyle changes make customer service requirements increasingly sophisticated, demanding the industry to constantly re-evaluate strategies and be prepared to evolve. Delegates will brainstorm:

·    Why airlines need to maximize revenue in a fast-changing and increasingly commoditized environment?
·    Is the Airport a real Hub of the Aviation?
·    Why industry and governments want to see greater systems efficiencies while maintaining the same high levels of passenger security or better?
·    How can intense market pressures characterised by increasing flights, passengers and baggage demand services be delivered quicker, more efficiently and at a lower cost?

Delegates and my blog readers will benefit from:
·    Being updated on the latest trends and expert analysis of the Aviation industry
·    Hearing from recognised and respected industry speakers
·    Networking opportunities with peers
·    Having 1 to 1 sessions with industry experts

While I will be far away from Sandton, I will be sipping coffee from my favorite Nairobi Café, I intend to aggregrate all the conversation from the speakers and regularly update our readers on the going ons down South. That’s the power of social media folks, you can attend meetings without attending. Follow our Tweets @FlyEU for regular updates. You can use the hashtag #AAvICTF on Twitter since the organizers did not mind to create a neither Twitter profile for the event nor a Twitter hashtag to track the conversation.

See you later!

South African Airways will target Asia's leisure, meetings and conventions market

South African Airways will target Asia's leisure, meetings and conventions market

South African Airways will target Asia's leisure and meetings and conventions market to offset a downturn in passenger volumes caused by the winding down of mainland-backed construction projects in Africa. The move coincides with the planned launch later this year of direct flights between Beijing and  Johannesburg that will augment the carrier's existing daily service  between Hong Kong and Johannesburg.

 Jeff Naylor, the carrier's regional general manager for North Asia, said the number of mainland workers travelling to Africa had "dropped back a bit" from the peak at the end of 2009. But there was still "a significant amount" which justified the launch of the three-times-a-week Beijing- Johannesburg service.

 No start date for the launch of the Beijing flights had been finalised, but South African Airways will use the Airbus A340-600, which can carry up to 317 passengers and is the same aircraft type used to serve Hong Kong. "A lot of the southern Africa traffic is from southern China rather than Hong Kong," Naylor said.




 China's huge investments in Africa, particularly in Angola, since the end of 2008 led to an influx of mainland workers and staff to build roads, industrial plants and associated  infrastructure. About 90-95 per cent of passengers on the Hong Kong- Johannesburg route were foreign workers, with about 25 per cent of the passengers using the carrier's regional and international network to fly  beyond South Africa, Naylor said.

He said that while Chinese investments and development projects now covered most of Africa, there was a recognition the high volume of mainland worker traffic would not last forever.
As a result the airline was trying to develop the leisure and `MICE' markets - or meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions markets, Naylor said.

New itineraries offering travel packages to places such as Namibia and the Victoria Falls as well as  increases in the number of countries served were now being introduced, and the airline would start flying to Madagascar from South Africa at the end of this year.

Overall, the carrier, which has  53 aircraft, flew 6.4 million passengers last year, with better-than-expected passenger numbers from Japan as a result of the World Cup which South Africa hosted last year. 

Expedia Partners with South African Airways

Expedia Partners with South African Airways

Expedia recently announced a private-label partnership with South African Airways,  the leading airline carrier in Africa. This follows a trend of online travel agencies offering hotel bookings on airlines' websites, and now Expedia will provide hotel bookings at each of the 35 destinations served by SAA. The announcement comes soon after Expedia's joint venture with AirAsia, the leading budget carrier in Asia.  We believe these moves will help it compete against other leading online travel agencies such as Priceline, Orbitz and Travelocity.

 How do these partnerships work?
 
The partnerships between airlines and online travel agencies is part of an evolving business model. Airlines' websites offer the most competitive airfares and attract a majority of air ticket bookings over the Internet. Offering hotel bookings on airlines' websites provides an added convenience and a seamless one-stop travel bookings experience. It also helps online travel agencies sell their inventory of hotel inventory to a relevant audience at the most crucial stage in the travel bookings process.

How much could it impact Expedia's stock?
Partnering with South African Airways could potentially increase Expedia's market share of hotel stays .
Here's an estimate of the potential impact by NASDAQ:

• More hotel stays for Expedia through the AirAsia partnership
  • South African Airways flew 7 million passengers in 2010.
  
  
  • Assuming that even if a conservative 1 in every 10 passengers booked a hotel stay at Expedia, this translates into a 700k more hotel stays
  
  


• More hotel nights booked through Expedia
  • It is estimated that on average there will be 2 persons per hotel room and 3 nights per stay leading to additional 1.05 million hotel room night bookings at Expedia in 2011 (0.7 million visitors / 2 visitors per room X 3 nights per stay)
  
  

South Africa introduces high-tech boarding passes for improved passenger convenience

South Africa introduces high-tech boarding passes for improved passenger convenience

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) and the airlines have introduced a new, cutting-edge, air travel convenience with the implementation of a system that allows passengers to make on-line or mobile flight ticket bookings and print their own boarding passes. The system went live early September 2010 for domestic flights and is working well.

A Lufthansa Mobile Boarding Pass

International travelers will be able to use the new 2-D barcode as soon approval has been received from the Department of Home Affairs whilst 1Time Airline will only be ready next year.Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP) use IATA industry standard 2D bar codes. Because they can be accessed from anywhere - even a mobile phone - they offer more convenience for the passenger.

Historically, airline global applications for mobile phone technology have been restricted due to different regional formats. The IATA standard uses existing codes: Aztec and Datamatrix which are used extensively in Europe and North America; and QR which is widely used in Japan. All three are proven technologies and can be read by a single scanner type that is cost effective and readily available globally.

 “The 2-D barcode verification system is the new standard in air travel that has been adopted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), thereby bringing South Africa in line with global practices. Passengers will no longer have to queue at the airport for check-in as their seat is assigned at the time of booking, while they can also print their boarding pass on any home laser or ink-jet printer. There are equally positive benefits for airlines, as the volume of people using their check-in desks will diminish, while giving them real-time monitoring of which passengers have already checked into the secure area,” says Bongani Maseko, ACSA’s Group Executive for Airport Operations.

ACSA has been working with industry players and partners over the past two years to put in place the system that requires the implementation of certain technologies, standards and functionality. The overall objective of the new system is to simplify the check-in process for the airlines and provide greater flexibility and convenience for air travellers.

IATA developed a detailed technical specification for the 2-D barcode system to ensure compliance and interoperability between the different participants. ACSA has worked with industry bodies such as the Airlines Association of Southern Africa and the Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa to ensure a smooth and collaborative implementation.

The system is being rolled out in a phased manner, starting with O.R. Tambo, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein International Airports, and George and Kimberley Airports. King Shaka International and our three other airports will be operational by the end of the year.

Maseko explains that airlines will offer a 2-D barcode printing service at their check-in counters for passengers who do not have the ability to print their pre-booked boarding pass. Passengers who use the 2-D boarding pass are required to carry positive identification, which must be produced at the boarding gate. An on-going education and information campaign will be implemented by ACSA to help passengers and the industry to make the necessary adjustments to this new system.




The system will be available for domestic travel on the following media: Check-in counter printed boarding passes, Common-User Self-Service printed boarding passes, Home printed boarding passes and Mobile devices. For international travelers, all of the above will be scanned, except for the 2-D boarding passes on mobile devices. It will be available for international travelers after the necessary approvals have been obtained from the Department of Home Affairs.

Airports Company South Africa to replace xylophone announcement jingle with vuvuzela blasts

Airports Company South Africa to replace xylophone announcement jingle with vuvuzela blasts

FED UP WITH PASSENGERS IGNORING FINAL BOARDING CALLS, Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has announced plans to replace the traditional three-tone xylophone PA announcement jingle with three blasts from a vuvuzela.

An ACSA spokesman stated: “Our office is still awash with those annoying plastic horns from the World Cup - what better way to put them to use and help get the planes away on time.” ACSA also plans to use as many as possible in foundations for apron extensions.

A view of the runway at O.R. Tambo International Airport's Terminal

1time Airline is BEE Empowered through agreement with Mtha Aviation

1time Airline is BEE Empowered through agreement with Mtha Aviation

South African aviation group 1time would raise R65,1-million to expand its airline and related businesses by selling a 25% interest in the group to a black economic-empowerment (BEE) consortium.Mtha Aviation.

 The group entered into a subscription agreement with Mtha Aviation and the SKMT Sunrise Investment Group to become its strategic BEE partners.The parties have formed an investment holding company, Oakleaf Investment Holdings, to acquire and hold the 25% stake in the 1time group. Mtha would own 83% of Oakleaf and Sunrise the balance.

Oakleaf would subscribe for 70-million shares in the aviation group.1time has negotiated with a third-party to fund the BEE deal.To that end, 1 000 preference shares in Oakleaf would be issued to the third-party funder for a total of R63,15-million, representing 97% of the required funding.The remaining R1,95-million would be paid in cash by Mtha and Sunrise.

1time adds it will use the money to expand its airline, aircraft maintenance and charter businesses “and to increase the group's BEE shareholding to realise its vision and strategy to create the largest
low cost airline in South Africa. The specific issue provides 1time with the opportunity to meet both of these objectives.”

“The improved BEE shareholding will significantly strengthen the group's BEE credentials, re-enforcing the group's commitment to a multi-faceted approach to BEE, which aims to increase the number of previously disadvantaged individuals who manage, own and control the company.”said a 1time executive

 Mtha Aviation has revenues of about R100 million a year and is involved in training of aviation personnel and aircraft maintenance. Mtha MD Busi Maqungo said the company had been approached to acquire a stake in 1time. "It was clear from the beginning that any new investor needed to bring capital to the table in order to fund 1time’s expansion. Not only were we able to do that, we were a good fit for 1time in that we are also involved in the aviation sector."

On inception of the company Mogwele Investments owned 5% of 1time Airline. They have now evolved as a 3% shareholding partner in the entire 1time Holdings group. Mogwele Investments is a black empowerment company, represented by Sipho Twala who serves on the airline's board assuming the position of chairman of the Group.
1time Chief Executive Officer, Glenn Orsmond, said: "1time is the first privately owned airline to commit itself to the objectives and targets set out in the Aviation Transport Charter. These objectives include a targeted 25% black empowerment shareholding. The airline is furthermore committed to consistently offering the lowest airfares to the general public to make air travel accessible to those previously denied the opportunity to travel by air." 

More Info:Formally established in 2007 by professionals in the aviation industry with collective experience of more than 40 years.The company was built in response to the need for organizational reconfiguration and change management challenges in the aerospace sector in South Africa.Its vision and mission is to be world class aviation consulting firm in the African continent.
Managing Director:Busi Maqungo
Email:info@mtha-aviation.co.za
Website:http://www.mtha-aviation.co.za

South African Airways Website Revamp:Fancy but Slow

South African Airways Website Revamp:Fancy but Slow

If you hadn't noticed,South African Airways just gave their website a brand new look.There no fancy flash introductions and displays.It's been designed with the end user in mind;to simplify the booking process and navigation.

"Lowest fares booked today"

• It provides travelers/agencies with "list of lowest fares booked today"


• After you enter where your departure airport,it takes about 2 minutes to calculate the list of possible routes to your destination(more convenient for end user).For example,a one way flight to NBO booked online will yield the following flight and fare options:

Possible routes to my destination in Nairobi(NBO) from Jo'burg(JNB)

•  The website also has session timeout.meaning that if you open the flysaa.com website and the page is idle after a few minutes,it "times you out" prompting you to go back to the main site(refresh).No idling here guys!I think this is also a security feature to protect personal info when booking your flight.

"Your session has expired":This will be a common feature in the new look SAA website

•  Onbiz travel:I think this is a new feature.South African Airways’ OnBiz division, is a complete online service for company travel.


• I love the way they have utilized the bottom of their page.Instead of posting a 1001 links,they simply placed four banners displaying various offers,their environmental program,their AVIS car hire program plus more goodies.This smart use of the bottom page reminds me of the Emirates website!

Smart use of the bottom page of the revamped SAA website

I think most users will love the new look FlySAA website for its pragmatic "first things first" approach:ease of booking and ease of navigation. 
One problem is that the revamped website takes an eternity to load,it took close to 2 minutes to load on my PC and this is one of the reasons it drew ire from some social media users.I wonder how many African travelers,who typically should have low internet speeds will go about accessing SAA's revamped website.

That is why instead of kudos,we had comments like "Note to #airlines launching 'the new look' of your website, before you blast everyone via e-mail & Facebook make sure it works & loads fast"
What do you think of South African Airways revamped website?You can also join the conversion on Twitter.Use the two words #flysaa #website and join the conversation.

Aviation History in Pictures:Sasol makes world's first fully synthetic fuel-powered flight

Aviation History in Pictures:Sasol makes world's first fully synthetic fuel-powered flight

South African petrochemicals giant Sasol on Tuesday took to the skies the world's first passenger flight powered with only synthetic jet fuel, which was produced from coal.The flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town took two hours.A nervous Springbok Captain John Smit was onboard the flight but was eventually filled with pride after the the historic flight:

Here are a few pictures capturing the historic event:

Springbok's Victor Matfield was on the world's first fully synthetic fuel-powered flight

Sasol makes World'd first fully synthetic fuel powered flight

Pictures Courtesy Creamer Media

A Sasol Gasoline Station in Johannesburg(courtesy Getty Images)

Watch Sasol CEO Pat Davies on Youtube speak after the historic first passenger flight powered by 100% synthetic fuel.

A Legacy:Rebranding South African Airways

A Legacy:Rebranding South African Airways

What do you think of South African Airways livery?Is it lively enough;does it capture our colorful lives and cultures and even histories.Apart from some daring designs by airlines such as Kulula or Mango Airlines,most African airline liveries are pretty bland to be honest.

Kyle Hwang

Kyle Hwang is young and passionate aviation geek from Pretoria ,South Africa and a prolific designer too.His "favorite pastime is livery designing" and he has come up with some innovative and imaginative redesigns of airline liveries.One of his(and mine too) favorite albeit controversial "redesigns" is that of South African Airways.His inspiration is the Springbok(South Africa's National Animal) and a symbol of apartheid.

During apartheid,the Springbok was a powerful symbol of Afrikaner nationalism and the incoming ANC regime,determined to dismantle these vestiges and symbols of the past,took great care in rebranding the former "pariah airline' to conform to the post apartheid realities.So out went the blue Springbok and in came the

new livery based upon the new national flag, with a yellow ball (sun) placed in the red stripe

The blue flying Springbok:The South African Airways emblem prior to 1997

The Revenge of the Springbok?

Kyle disagrees;of the Springbok,he says "I do not think it is a reminder of Apartheid.The Flying Springbok logo was used even before apartheid was initiated."His redesign embraces the two South Africas;the old and the new.The "Rainbow nation" as conceived by Mandela must embrace every facet of its cultures and experiences,and that includes some symbols of the old Afrikaner dominated South Africa too.

Kyle has also addressed the concerns for those who might accuse him of harboring a nostalgia for the old days:"My version of the livery also feature the three colours of the ANC quite predominantly too so you cannot blame me for political incorrectness."

 The airline of the old South Africa:Suid Afrikaanse Lugdiens(SAL),the "pariah airline"

The livery of Post Apartheid South Africa:Adopted in 1997 as ANC dismantles the old symbols of Aparthied and Afrikaner nationalism.

 The Future:Kyle's livery for the Rainbow Nation's airline?Kyle concludes that "sooner or later the springbok might just find its way back into South African branding."

Read Kyle Hwang's Blog Raydon Designer's Blog 


Write to Us FlightAfricablog@gmail.com

South African Airways Launches a Mobile WAP Site

South African Airways Launches a Mobile WAP Site

As we wrote a couple of months ago,millions of Africans are using their cell phones to access the web,including me.Mobile web is so convenient;I can read latest information on African airlines and access thousands of airline applications! Just like the social media was the great hype of 2008/2009;mobile web is  quickly becoming an important tool for airlines especially those operating in Africa!

Kenya Airways developed its nice little WAP site last year offering information on fligh status,schedules,special offers,baggage information and a nice Google Sites interactive feature.

  South African Airways has just launched its very own mobile portal allowing customers to access comprehensive travel and airline information from just one point of reference, anywhere, anytime, using their cellphone.

The portal allows travellers to access the information from a capable cellphone device such as: airline flight schedules; directions to airline lounges at airports around the world; flight arrival and departure information; and destination information such as weather forecasts for any city in the world and a currency converter.

This new initiative is in partnership with Star Alliance, who developed the Common IT Mobile Platform, which SAA used to launch its own portal for customers - making SAA the first airline in Africa to have launched the new service.
The portal is a universal feed able to access information on any airline and destination in the world.

South Africa's Kulula Airlines goes back to basics with Flying 101 re-branding

South Africa's Kulula Airlines goes back to basics with Flying 101 re-branding

The big story on airline branding for the last three weeks has been Kulula's audacious and funny rebranding.A 101 guide to the different parts of the plane.So much conversation has been generated on social media be it Twitter,Flickr,Friendfeed or blogs.If you haven't heard of Kulula's rebranding ,then you must be living on Mars.



Here is a nice little piece from Shashank Nigam,the 'certifiable' airline branding and social media geek whose wonderful blog Simpliflying was recently voted the Second Best Aviation Blog in the world.As Shashank says,"Now here’s one plane that’s bound the become the kids’ favorite. In fact, I bet that adults would be intrigued too. I’d let the pictures do the talking, and you be the judge."

Enjoy the read.I will resume my posts later in the week with an inside look into African Aviation.Great week and a BIG HUG to you all!

South Africa's Kulula Airlines goes back to basics with Flying 101 re-branding