• African aviation experts argue that air cargo should be liberalised separately from passenger travel under SAATM, as cargo drives trade, supports key industries, and links regional and global markets, whereas treating it as secondary could slow economic growth and disrupt supply chains.
• Freighters carry around 65 percent of global air cargo and operate on supply-chain demand rather than passenger schedules; separate regulatory treatment—including traffic rights, capacity, and digital customs tools—would reduce delays, cut costs, and enhance trade reliability.
• A step-by-step, cargo-focused liberalisation approach could strengthen intra-African trade, support e-commerce and SMEs, integrate with development initiatives, and accelerate Africa’s economic integration and industrial development independently of passenger aviation.

As Africa pushes forward with the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), aviation stakeholders are making a strong case for treating air cargo differently from passenger travel. Experts warn that treating cargo as an afterthought to passenger aviation could slow trade, disrupt regional supply chains, and limit the continent’s economic potential.

Air cargo is vital for African economies, linking production hubs to both regional and global markets. While passenger liberalisation is important for mobility and tourism, cargo keeps exports moving and supports industries like manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, perishables, and e-commerce—all key pillars of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Yet much of the SAATM liberalisation agenda continues to prioritise passenger traffic rights, leaving cargo operations constrained by rules that don’t reflect their unique role.

Industry data shows that around 65 percent of global air cargo is carried on dedicated freighters rather than passenger aircraft. That’s a critical distinction: freighters operate on supply-chain demand, not passenger schedules, and are far less affected by the political complexities that shape passenger liberalisation. Applying the same restrictions—like capacity limits, strict reciprocity rules, or designation restrictions—can slow trade and drive up costs for exporters.

Ahmed Raafat, Air Cargo Manager at Cairo Airport Company, has been a vocal advocate for a separate cargo liberalisation track within SAATM. Speaking to the ACI Africa subcommittee on cargo, he urged policymakers to rethink the approach.

“We need to separate the liberalisation process from passenger matters. We need to separate cargo from this issue,” Raafat said. “As we said, 65 percent of the total movement of the global air cargo industry is moved by freighters.”

He added that passenger liberalisation is valuable, but it should not hold cargo back.

“All respect to the bill of the passenger aircraft. It is helping a lot, but if it comes with obstacles and constraints for liberalisation, we can postpone it a little bit and focus on the cargo liberalisation alone,” he said.

Industry observers agree that prioritising cargo could unlock significant economic gains. Freighters transport perishable goods, medical supplies, and critical industrial components, and delays can ripple through supply chains—impacting manufacturing timelines, export competitiveness, and the reliability of regional trade corridors. By giving cargo its own regulatory lane, African states could speed up approvals for freighter routes, expand traffic rights, and create conditions for faster, more reliable trade.

Raafat also emphasised the importance of linking cargo reform with broader development initiatives.

“Another recommendation is to integrate with African flagship projects and accelerate Saturn adoption, and make it step-by-step liberalisation,” he said. “Country by country, it’s not easy work, and we have to make this together.”

A step-by-step approach allows countries to trial freighter-specific traffic rights, implement digital customs tools like e-AWB (electronic air waybills) and single-window clearance, and introduce cargo-focused regulatory reforms. This gradual strategy avoids the risks of a “big bang” liberalisation, builds trust among states, and delivers tangible economic benefits early in SAATM’s rollout.

Analysts argue that seeing air cargo as strategic trade infrastructure rather than just an airline service could accelerate Africa’s economic integration. It reframes cargo from a secondary airline operation to a critical enabler of trade, industrial development, and regional value chains. Prioritising cargo could cut logistics costs, improve transit times, and increase supply chain reliability—all crucial for economic resilience.

The benefits for intra-African trade are clear. Efficient cargo networks move high-value and perishable goods faster, support e-commerce growth, and connect small and medium-sized businesses to continental and global markets. In a region where infrastructure bottlenecks, regulatory delays, and fragmented logistics networks are common, freighter-focused liberalisation offers a practical, high-impact route to growth.

As SAATM evolves, it’s becoming increasingly clear: liberalising air cargo independently from passenger travel isn’t just a policy preference—it’s a practical necessity. Giving cargo its own track could accelerate Africa’s integration into global trade, strengthen regional supply chains, and show tangible economic gains far faster than waiting for full passenger liberalisation.

Simply put: passenger travel connects people, but cargo connects economies. For Africa’s aviation market and trade potential, the sky is not the limit—it’s the starting point.

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