IOC Organizes An International Conference For Regional Air Strategy

" The status quo is not an option , "said Jean Claude de l'Estrac as air strategy of States and the region as a whole is closely linked to the economy, including tourism. The causes of the difficulties of the airlines of the region, along with Air Mauritius are known: economic crisis, remote transmitters tourist country, narrow tourism markets, upward trend in oil and "fragmentation" of the regional air service.

As a result, competition from regional carriers seems to last longer. Hence the initiative of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) to convene an international conference of experts from the International Air Transport Association, the World Bank, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the World Tourism Organization, and tourism professionals of the regional aviation industry, and government representatives.

It will therefore discuss ways to ensure that air transport users connectivity at an affordable price, which meet international safety standards, with sufficient frequency, and to various destinations. For the Secretary-General stressed, it is the citizens who pay the first the poor financial performance of airlines islands in the region through the "excessive" prices of airline tickets and public funds used to bail out these same companies.

For the l'Estrac, you must not cling to the old idea that it is essential to fly the flag of the country in the sky. For dependent island economies outside air connectivity to whether carrier, through a joint strategy. For this, we need a strong political will, and especially the involvement of private operators. Remains to be seen if the airlines are willing to hear.

Anver Versi, Director of African Business Magazine to be one of the panelists at the conference, quoted by Jean Claude de l'Estrac, warned in one of his writings: " African airlines - liberalized or die . " For the region, the options will be to study, among others, to create a regional airlinelow cost or find a strategic partner for all the regional companies to international or regional routes only.