The East African Community Secretary General, Richard Sezibera has urged EAC member states to domesticate the air space if the region wishes to be competitive on the international aviation scene.

“East African states should understand that air transport competition is not between us (EAC) but rather with the rest of the world,” he said.

Sezibera also believes that it’s the obligation of the member states to push for a common East African passport and to remove all barriers at the entry points. He was officiating at the commissioning of the new technical block at the headquarters of the East African Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) in Entebbe on Friday.

Since its formation in 2007, CASSOA has been at the forefront of ensuring aviation safety and security in the region. The agency however, has received limited funding, which prompted Sezibera to propose a modest surcharge on all regional tickets, which could generate enough income for the agency activities.

In the same spirit, the speaker for the East African community, Margaret Zziwa, called for a reduction in the ticket charges for regional flights.

“We need to harmonise charges within the region if we are talking about the East African community,” she said.
“I wonder why a flight between Entebbe and Nairobi is charged three times more than a flight between Nairobi and Mombasa – when the distance is almost the same.”

Meanwhile Sezibera acknowledged the improvement in air traffic in the previous five years of CASSOA’s existence, saying air traffic has grown from 8% in 2007 to 20% in 2011 with over 1,300 aircraft. Kenya realises the highest number of passengers of up to five million, followed by Tanzania with three million, while Uganda accounts for 1.2m, Rwanda, 400,000 and Burundi, 200,000 passengers.

“Looking at the tough times, this looks to be a good statistic, but we need to enhance regional integration by ensuring safe and secure aviation,” Sezibera said.