The long-awaited Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) will be launched this week by the African Union (AU) heads of state currently meeting in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

 The SAATM which is scheduled to be launched on January 28 will be the first AU Agenda 2063 Flagship Project to be launched and it is aimed at creating a unified air transport system for the continent.

Ahead of the launch, Dr Amani Abou- Zeid, the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission said:

“As the first of the 12 African Union’s Agenda 2063 flagship projects to be launched, the implementation of SAATM will pave way for other flagship projects like the African Passport will enable the free movement of people and the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA).

The Commissioner added: “The AU Summit will also see the adoption of the regulatory text of the Yamoussoukro Decision, that is, the competition and consumer protection regulations that safeguard the efficient operation of the market.”

The AU Commission believes the take-off of the SAATM which has been subscribed to by 23 out of the 53 AU nations will spur more opportunities to promote trade, cross-border investments in the production and service industries including tourism thereby creating an additional 300,000 jobs directly and  two million indirect jobs across the continent.

Several heads of state, including ambassadors and government officials of the 53 member states are currently in Addis Ababa for the 30th AU Summit with the theme “Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path To Africa’s Transformation.”