Mbeki told a gathering of African transport ministers that making air travel cheaper and more efficient continent-wide was a major plank in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the continent's homegrown economic recovery plan.

The plan urges improved economic and political management by Africans in exchange for foreign direct investment and increased donor dollars from Western countries and agencies.

"The parlous state of affairs of the aviation industry leaves a lot to be desired. Airlines are often unreliable with frequent cancellations which are not only inconvenient but also unproductive for our economic growth," Mbeki said.

"If we are to give the (World Cup) the distinctive African flavour we have promised, we have to make sure that Africa is well represented on the field as well as on the stands of the stadia where the games will be played," Mbeki said.

"For that to happen, we need easy air access, cheaper fares, as little regulation as possible and partnerships among airlines on our continent," he added.

Mbeki said he was concerned that a 2004 analysis of global air accident statistics had shown that 27 percent of all fatal accidents were in Africa. The continent accounts for only 3 percent of world aircraft departures, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Mbeki said Africa was committed to cutting accidents by 50 percent in five years time, but that required improved upper airspace management, phasing out of aging craft -- mostly cargo planes -- and improvement of air traffic navigation facilities.

State-owned South African Airways is the continent's biggest carrier. Other airlines serving the region include Kenya Airways, Air Mauritius and Ethiopian Airlines.

A major issue facing Africans, he said, is whether to import second-hand, older-generation aircraft to boost air capacity when such planes were banned in Europe and the United States.

Mbeki urged Africans to make safety and security a major priority, saying saboteurs had attacked aircraft in Africa long before the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

"We have not done enough on our own to protect ourselves."

Mbeki called on Africans to improve air transport infrastructure, saying many of Africa's 4,000 airports and airstrips were not designed for modern aircraft and cargo capacity was inadequate across the poorest continent.

"Our air transport sector must ... connect small villages with the global market," Mbeki said.

Christian Folly-Kossi, Secretary-General of the African Airlines Association, said earlier that a lack of direct services between many African cities was hampering integration, trade and tourism and called for a fund to help ailing airlines.

African governments agreed in 2000 to allow flexibility in the granting of traffic rights, multiple designation of airlines and to remove a limit on flight frequencies to bolster trade and integration, but Mbeki noted delays in implementing the deal and urged African states to enact it as soon as possible.

Source: Reuters SA