Why is airfare so expensive in Africa?

Question

I understand why Europe has incredibly low costs (cheapo airlines, lots of competition including with trains, etc.) but within Africa flights are just incredibly expensive (sometimes I found it cheaper to fly from one African country to Europe and then to another one rather than within the continent). Just wondering if anyone has any ideas why and if there are ways to solve it?

kenniskrag · Accepted Answer

> Blame a combination of protectionist legal barriers and regulatory hurdles, mixed with inadequate infrastructure, high taxes, and stubborn nationalism… Countries across the continent have displayed protectionist tendencies to limit others’ access to their own airspace. Those instincts began a generation ago, when newly independent nations sought to assert themselves by creating national airlines, and continue today… The problem is compounded by the generally poor state of Africa’s transportation infrastructure… Various fees and tax schemes also contribute to big-ticket prices.
> The region’s endeavor to liberalize intra-continental air transport service and create a single market in Africa has been long coming and slow going. In 1988, African states agreed to principles of air services liberalization, in the Yamoussoukro Declaration. In 1999, in the Yamoussoukro Decision, 44 members of the African Union signed their commitment to “deregulate air services, and promote regional air markets open to transnational competition.” In 2018, the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) was launched, with participation from 33 African states, laying the framework for the implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision. But as a quick Google Flight search will affirm, there has been little implementation.
Source: https://theflip.africa/newsletter/expensive-air-travel-in-af...