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VOL. 11, ISSUE 2 (2026)
Regulatory and institutional challenges of implementing the single African Air transport market across Africa: Governance reform pathways for the single African Air transport market
Authors
Dr. Francis Malinga
Abstract
The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), launched under the
African Union’s Agenda 2063, represents the most ambitious aviation
liberalisation initiative in the continent’s history. Yet, six years after its
formal inauguration in January 2018, substantive implementation remains
critically constrained by an interlocking matrix of governance failures:
entrenched state protectionism, regulatory fragmentation across 55 sovereign
jurisdictions, institutional incapacity within the African Civil Aviation Commission
(AFCAC), and the persistent absence of operational dispute resolution
mechanisms. Building directly on Malinga and Roy’s (2024) foundational analysis
of bilateral air service agreements and their limitations in Africa’s
regulatory framework, this paper advances the scholarly conversation by
offering a deeper diagnostic of governance reform pathways, situating the SAATM
impasse within contemporary Institutional Theory, Neoinstitutionalism, Liberal
Intergovernmentalism, Public Choice Theory, and Regulatory Governance
Frameworks. Drawing on 75 percent peer-reviewed sources published between 2022
and 2026, the paper examines the structural conditions that obstruct compliance
transformation, analyses the operational dysfunctions of AFCAC and regional economic
community (REC) mandates, traces the stalled operationalisation of continental
arbitration mechanisms, and maps the trajectory of regulatory harmonisation
efforts. The paper culminates in a governance reform framework articulating
five propositions for translating SAATM signatory commitments into enforceable,
market-transforming compliance. The findings have direct implications for
African Union aviation policy, REC coordination frameworks, and bilateral aid
negotiations between African governments and international development
partners.
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Pages:75-85
How to cite this article:
Dr. Francis Malinga "Regulatory and institutional challenges of implementing the single African Air transport market across Africa: Governance reform pathways for the single African Air transport market". International Journal of Academic Research and Development, Vol 11, Issue 2, 2026, Pages 75-85
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