WINDHOEK, June 21 — Namibia’s air traffic is expected to double by 2042, according to Joep Ellers, Airbus airline marketing director for Africa.
Speaking to the media Wednesday night in the Namibian capital of Windhoek, Ellers said passenger traffic in Africa is expected to increase by more than 2.5 times, with air traffic growing by nearly 5 percent annually over the next two decades.
“Over the next 20 years, Africa will need 15,000 new pilots and 20,000 new technicians to maintain the aircraft,” he said.
To support this growth, the plane manufacturer estimated that Africa will require about 1,180 new aircraft. “Of these aircraft, we estimate that 75 percent will be single-aisle, while 25 percent will be wide-body,” Ellers added.
Ellers said the European plane maker aims to be the first major manufacturer to offer a hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035.
“Airbus sees hydrogen power as the future of zero emissions. Our ultimate goal is to reach net zero by 2050, which is in line with all industry agreements. That’s why we are working together as an industry,” he said.
Meanwhile, Airbus said the continued growth of the aviation sector in Africa is expected to result in real gross domestic product growth of 3.3 percent on the continent, well above the global average of 2.6 percent.
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