“Strategic infrastructure should be built around the largest and most resilient market. In Africa, that market is Africans.” voyagesafriq.com/2026/03/08/… In my latest column for @VoyagesAfriq, I look at the often incoherent strategy that African nations have when investing in aviation and tourism infrastructure. Too often, modernisation is interpreted as building impressive new terminals or ambitious hub projects designed to attract long haul traffic from Europe, and to rival temples of opulence in the Gulf or Asia. Yet the less glamorous foundations of aviation infrastructure, such as reliable air navigation systems, efficient visa processing, affordable airport charges and strong regional connectivity, are frequently neglected. If we want aviation and tourism to grow sustainably, infrastructure must be designed around the people most likely to use it: Africans travelling within Africa. The next wave of growth will not come only from flights to London, Dubai or Beijing. It will come from traders, students, entrepreneurs, families and tourists moving across our own continent.

Three of the best hats in African aviation in a single selfie! Great catching up with Hon. Minister Festus Keyamo @fkeyamo and Capt. Chris Najomo of @NigeriaCAA on the sidelines of the African Civil Aviation Commission @Afcac_Cafac conference in Lome this week.

An amazing photograph with five legends of African aviation whom I am also fortunate to call my dear friends. Aaron Munetsi, Capt Gilbert Kibe, Raphael Kuuchi, Ato Girma Wake and Sanjeev Gadhia. How fortunate to catch up with them across AviaDev Africa in Botswana last week and the AFCAC conference in Togo this week.

Check out BG and myself pontificating on aviation issues outside Africa for a change! 🤣 We join @vishal1mehra on The Indian AvGeek this week with a range of interesting discussions.

AviaDev Africa 2026 has come to an end in Gaborone. From Jon, Mala and the entire AviaDev team - thank you for your support! See you in Zambia for the 2027 event! 🇧🇼✈️🇿🇲

Enjoying a lovely sunny day in Botswana! 🇧🇼

Hello Botswana!!! 🇧🇼 What a wonderful welcome at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport from the @CAA_Botswana team. If you're attending AviaDev Africa in Gaborone this week, make sure you stop by the special stand at arrivals for any assistance with logistics!

"A Boeing operator, an Embraer operator, a Bombardier operator, and Airbus' Marketing Director walk into a bar..." Sounds like the setup for a joke doesn't it? But this discussion is going to be quite the opposite. If you're attending AviaDev Africa in Botswana next week, we'll be on stage Wednesday morning. If not, the video will be online soon afterwards. Either way, don't miss the insightful and fun discussion about fleet strategy for African carriers.

Last year, @Fly_Airlink's decision to select @embraer's E195-E2 for their fleet expansion was voted by AviaDev Africa podcast listeners as the "Best Commercial Decision of 2025". Next week, I will sit down with Adam Young of Embraer, Katherine Whelan of Airlink and Scott Boardman of Azorra to discuss the A-Z of this transaction from concept to execution. We'll look at the marketing efforts, the performance analysis and the financing packages that came together to ensure that the deal could be closed. If you're attending AviaDev 2026 in Botswana, we will be on stage Wednesday morning - if not, you can catch the YouTube recording the following week. Don't miss this discussion if you have any sort of interest in how aircraft deals are put together from OEM, airline and lessor perspectives!

Next week in Botswana, I'm moderating a star studded panel discussion about Africa's most promising markets for air service. Join us in person if you're attending AviaDev Africa, or else check out the recording on YouTube after the event!

My comments in @jeune_afrique (en francais) about why some African airlines are cutting routes in the current economic environment. "Pour Sean Mendis, en période de crise, les lignes les moins rentables sont les premières sacrifiées. « Certaines liaisons ont un seuil de rentabilité plus difficile à atteindre »" (In times of crisis, the least profitable routes are the first sacrifices. Some routes have a threshold to break even which is more difficult to attain.)

On the May edition of the AviaDev podcast, join Jon, BG and myself a we go through a very eventful month in African aviation. * Virgin and KLM increasing South Africa flights * SAA to cut some domestic and regional frequencies * Airlink launching Cape Town to Zanzibar with the new E2-195 * Turkish Airlines cuts 10 sub-Saharan Africa routes * Qatar Airways restores pre-conflict African network plus Port Sudan \ * Kenya Airways resumes Dubai flights * Jambojet takes delivery of its 11th plane and plans regional growth * Uganda Airlines gets an Ethiopian 737 on wetlease * Air Tanzania going daily to Mumbai and planning Moscow flights * Ethiopian new flights to Salalah and soon to Mauritius * Air Peace cuts Abuja-London frequencies * United Nigeria takes delivery of first 737-800 and plans Johannesburg * Air Cote D'Ivoire's stupidest plan yet? Don't forget to join us in Gaborone from 10-12th June for the 2026 AviaDev Africa conference if you're in the neighbourhood. youtu.be/mOuDznJc9Zw

My comments to @Graphicgh about the plans for yet another national airline in Ghana. Aviation Expert and former Chief Operations Officer of Africa World Airlines, Sean Mendis... argued that Accra’s fundamentals are already stronger than policymakers often assume. The city, he noted, had quietly established itself as a preferred entry point into the sub-region, underpinned by a relatively stable operating environment and efficient airport infrastructure. “Ghana is already the preferred gateway of choice to West Africa for pretty much every airline,” he said, pointing to an existing competitive edge that could be leveraged (with existing operators) rather than built from scratch. graphic.com.gh/business/busi…

I spoke to @TheAfricaReport this week about Turkish Airlines decision to suspend flights to numerous African destinations. "When the market is in a downturn and costs are rising, it becomes harder to justify operating (low volume marginal markets) throughout the crisis."

On the latest AviaDev Africa podcast, join Jon, BG and myself for a look at the top stories in African aviation this month. * Etihad's big bang launch of SIX(!!!) African destinations - we do a deep dive into each route * Salamair announces flights to Kigali and Mogadishu - one has potential and the answer may surprise you! * ASKY lists Kano as its next destination - stepping stone into North Africa? * South African Airways CEO quits abruptly amid controversy over financial statements - what's next in this soap opera? * Uganda Airlines unethical advertising flights that don't actually exist - should this joke of an airline just be allowed to die? * Air Tanzania's route to Seychelles didn't launch (as we predicted - April Fool anyone?) - but now may actually fly in May All this and much more available on YouTube, Spotify and elsewhere! youtube.com/live/qIKkBGKsZh4

My comments to @aviationgh about @etihad launch of SIX(!!!) new Africa routes. African aviation specialist Sean Mendis tells AviationGhana that the move is part of a deliberate restructuring under Etihad’s new management. “Etihad is restructuring the airline and route network in the post-COVID era, and its biggest weak spot has been Africa,” he said. “They entered into a strategic partnership and codeshare agreement with Ethiopian Airlines last year to begin building a footprint into African markets, and this service represents the next phase of that expansion.” aviationghana.com/etihad-bet…

Scam warning! @UG_Airlines is advertising "direct" flights from Lagos to Mumbai on 20APR26 and 27APR26 but when you try to book with their Nigeria office they bait and switch to a flight with a long connection in Entebbe instead. False advertising at its absolute worst. @RahimLamar @mikeachimugu01 @DerekNseko @DGCAIndia @NigeriaCAA

If you're flying on @flyethiopian specifically on aircraft ET-BBG (a Boeing 777-300ER) in Economy Class - you should select a seat in row 21-24 which is the former China Southern Airlines Premium Economy cabin but sold as regular economy by Ethiopian. You get wider seats (2-4-2 config), 7 inches of extra legroom and a separate cabin with dedicated lavatory. Happy flighting 😁 🇮🇳✈️🇪🇹

rtvslo.si/svet/afrika/etiopi… I'm quoted in Slovenian in this article 🤣 Not sure why because I haven't given an interview to anyone from Slovenia but hey, it's all good 😁🇸🇮 Gradnja novega letališča je ključnega pomena za Ethiopian Airlines, zlasti zaradi lokacije in nadmorske višine obstoječega letališča Bole," dejal strokovnjak za afriško letalstvo Sean Mendis. Kot je pojasnil, je Bole sredi glavnega mesta, zato je njegov potencial za širitev omejen. "Letališče je zraslo toliko, kolikor je lahko, a Ethiopian Airlines se želi širiti še naprej," je povedal. Drugi pomemben razlog je, da je Bole na 2300 metrih nadmorske višine, kar je bistveno višje od lokacije novega letališča, ki leži 400 metrov nižje. "Nadmorska višina sedanjega letališča pomeni, da Ethiopian Airlines ne more neprekinjeno leteti v Severno Ameriko brez znatnih omejitev za letala. Trenutno lahko letijo v Severno Ameriko le, če njihova letala opravijo postanek v Lomeju, Abidžanu ali Rimu, kar pomeni več stroškov in več časa," je še povedal Mendis.