The Southern African Development Community (SADC) said Thursday that increasing oil prices, lack of good connectivity and reliability in air flights are among major challenges affecting the air industry in the region.

SADC Chief Director of Infrastructure and Services Remmy Makumbe said good connectivity systems and reliability of air lines in terms of arrivals and departures is cardinal for the development of trade in the region.

Makumbe said that currently, passengers have to connect through South Africa before reaching their destinations.

Because of these challenges, the airline industry in the region is not well placed to compete with external couriers from Europe and Asia, he said.

With the liberalization of air transport, the region needs to enter into alliances so as to withstand the competition and reduce on the operational costs, he told Zambia News and Information Services.

He said that airlines such as South Africa Airways had joined the star alliance with 18 airlines operating globally.

He said alliances allow for complementarity in operations and code share systems in which each airline reserves space for other parties so as to cut on costs.

Makumbe said that SADC in collaboration with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and Eastern African Countries (EAC) is addressing the problem of infrastructure for air posts.

He said the program will help in the expansion and modernization of the air posts in the region.

Source: Xinhua