EAST HARTFORD, Conn., October 13, 2022 – Pratt & Whitney and the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) today announced the winners of the first-ever Pratt & Whitney Global E-STEM Awards. Satheeshkumar Kumarasingam, Pratt & Whitney’s chief transformation and strategy officer, bestowed grants totaling $250,000 to 13 nonprofit organizations in 11 countries. Each group demonstrated a remarkable commitment to advancing environmental, science, technology, engineering, and math (E-STEM) education programs for underrepresented students ages 11–18.

“Pratt & Whitney remains steadfast in the development of sustainable propulsion technologies to transform the future of flight, reducing aviation’s carbon footprint and impact on the environment,” said Kumarasingam, the champion of the program. “We are honored to work with these inspiring global nonprofits that motivate and support the next generation of innovators and sustainability experts. This opportunity will allow each of these organizations to grow while building skills and capacity for young people to solve environmental problems through STEM.”

A panel of judges from Pratt & Whitney and NAAEE selected the recipients from a pool of nearly 175 applicants spanning 40 countries who applied between May and July 2022. The winners were announced today in Tucson, Arizona, during NAAEE2022 Annual International Conference, with the theme Educating for Change.

For more than five decades, the NAAEE has served as the professional association, champion, and backbone organization for the field of environmental education (EE), working with EE professionals across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as globally, to advance environmental literacy and civic engagement to create a more just and sustainable future.

“NAAEE is thrilled to join Pratt & Whitney in recognizing these outstanding nonprofits from around the world that are working to address environmental challenges facing their communities,” notes Judy Braus, Executive Director of NAAEE. “These innovative groups are demonstrating how education, along with creativity, hard work, and a host of STEM skills, can help create positive change. We look forward to working with the winning organizations and seeing what these young problem-solvers of the future can accomplish.”

Awards were provided in two categories, both of which fund programs that create solutions to an environmental challenge in one of the three priority areas: climate change, sustainable energy, or sustainable aviation. Six E-STEM Excellence Prizes of up to $50,000 were given to nonprofits and their partners who demonstrated excellence in established E-STEM education in three regions: Asia-Pacific (APAC); Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA); and the Americas. Seven regional Pratt & Whitney Global E-STEM Innovation Grants of up to $15,000 were presented to groups with promising proposals to launch new E-STEM programs. In addition, each group will have access to year-round professional development workshops and support, valued at $20,000.

The six Pratt & Whitney Global E-STEM Excellence Prize winners include:

• Envirolution ($50,000)— Based in Nevada and also serving Arizona, California, Colorado, New York, and Rhode Island​, this program is a hands-on, project-based E-STEM curriculum and training program.​ The award will aid in bringing the program to two new states and at least 15 new schools—reaching 40 teachers and 3,500 students in the 2023/2024 school year.
• Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) ($40,000) — Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, with pilot programs in Latvia and Slovenia, this program is an E-SPACE initiative that teaches students about the circular economy, renewable energy, and waste reduction. The prize will help them expand the project to 80 schools in South America, Africa, and Asia.
• Wildlife Conservation Nepal ($30,000) — This program, serving Kathmandu and rural areas since 2002, offers an interactive and hands-on curriculum designed to teach STEM approaches to youth grades 1–8, teaching them to explore and address waste, energy, forest, and water conservation. The award will allow them to create 10 dedicated green schools for deeper engagement and will also expand teacher trainings.
• Green Growth Africa (formerly ISNAD Africa)  ($10,000) — Based in Ibadan, Nigeria, with engagement in six countries across Africa, this project began in 2018 to empower secondary school students across Africa with education resources to identify environmental challenges in their communities and work in groups to propose solutions. The award will allow them to expand to 5,000 additional students across 10 countries.
• STEMIE Advantages ($10,000)— Based in Singapore, STEMIE focuses on student innovation, challenging students to develop an invention that solves environmental issues. Their first workshop reached 18 students in 2021, and with the award, they plan to expand to reach 40 students annually, running two more month-long sessions for children who typically face barriers to accessing and succeeding in E-STEM education.
• Haritadhara Research Development and Education Foundation (HRDEF) ($5,000)— Based in Uttarakhand, India, this project challenges students with projects that engage them in environmental management, water, energy, waste, climate change, and transportation issues. Currently these projects have reached 10,567 students, and with the prize money HRDEF plans to expand their work to other rural schools and use project-based learning to have students work on local issues.

The seven winners of a Pratt & Whitney Global E-STEM Innovation Grant include:

• Support Service for Grassroots Development (SAILD) ($15,000)— Based in Yaoundé, Cameroon, SALID will teach teens how to use science to farm smarter, mitigating environmental impacts. In addition, they will host fairs and awareness activities about the impact of detrimental agricultural practices. The grant money will help the program reach 200 rural youth and 30 teachers in Cameroon.
• Palestine Association for Education, Environmental Protection (PAEEP) ($15,00) — Located in the North Gaza Strip, Palestine, PAEEP will help various age-based programs to raise children’s awareness and engagement with E-STEM. For example, students will use E-STEM skills to develop sustainable business proposals, with local professionals reviewing and mentoring them. The project will reach 120 underrepresented children from the North Gaza Strip.
• Bhumi ($15,000)— Located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Bhumi coordinates school programs that, via a mix of both in-person and virtual learning, provide STEM activities and learning opportunities to low-income children in remote and rural parts of India. With the funds, they also plan to host sessions that involve interactive experiments, journaling, discussion, and debate for the students, as well as mentorship with local volunteers, and are projected to reach 1,200 students across 6 different schools.
• Semillas del Océano ($15,000)— Based in Guatemala, Semillas del Océano (Seeds of the Ocean) proposes to create a new hybrid ocean science program that engages 80 students through workshops featuring ocean scientists, studying mangrove trees at a local reserve, applying scientific research methods, and more.
• Education and Cultural Society (ECS) ($10,000) — Located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the project proposes workshops to be hosted at underserved schools where girls work on E-STEM projects that address environmental issues facing their communities and the world today. The students will then present these projects at an E-STEM innovation summit. With the funds, this project will reach 1,500 girls from 30 schools in underserved areas of Bangladesh.
• SuperNOVA at Dalhousie University ($7,500) — Dalhousie University’s Ocean Data Project (ODP), based in Nova Scotia, Canada, was developed in partnership with the Pictou Landing First Nation (PLFN) community to make E-STEM locally relevant to students through ocean education workshops that highlight the central role of the ocean on climate change. The grant will help this project reach 30 Pictou Indigenous youth.
• Bronx Institute for Urban Systems ($7,500) — Based in Bronx, New York, this project will identify 12 students from marginalized communities in the Bronx, New York and provide them with a week-long experience at the State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Pratt & Whitney’s corporate social responsibility program supports initiatives that emphasize a laser focus on innovation and performance, inspire the next generation, and empower employees to positively impact communities. The company is committed to ensuring that future generations of engines drive further reductions in CO2 emissions, decrease noise, and are ready to operate with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to reduce dependence on fossil fuels while improving engine efficiency. Click here to learn more about the future of sustainable aviation.

About Pratt & Whitney
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft and helicopter engines, and auxiliary power units. To learn more visit www.prattwhitney.com. To receive press releases and other news directly, please sign up here.

For further information: Pratt & Whitney, +1 (860) 565-9600, media@prattwhitney.com

The October 2022 edition of AFRAA Sky-Connect will host Mr. John Kelly, Vice President EMEA – Rolls Royce.

Join us for a thought-provoking one-on-one dialogue with John Kelly as he addresses stakeholders about Rolls Royce in Africa and insights on various actions to support the sustainability of the air transport industry in Africa.

Highlights of the dialogue:

1. About Rolls Royce in Africa
2. The aviation industry recovery, growth potential in Africa from an OEM perspective
3. New products development by Rolls Royce
   a. What will the future of flying be like?
   b. What’s new coming from Rolls Royce – different technologies under development
   c. Environmental impact and mitigation measures/SAF opportunities for Africa
4. Gender and inclusivity
   a. Commitment towards inclusivity at the workplace
   b. Opportunities in the aerospace industry for the youth
5. Partnerships and capacity building initiatives

Expect nothing but out-of-the-box thinking and far – reaching recommendations to shape Africa’s aviation.

Join us on 12 October 2022 at 14.00hrs EAT
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3HVYIj7

African Airlines passenger traffic dropped 60.2% in 2020 due to the Covid19. By 2021 the activity is recovering. In August 2022, the traffic reached 77.2% of the 2019 level. However, we are not yet at the levels of 2019.

The Passenger Revenue Losses for 2021 were USD 8.6 billion, representing 49.8% of 2019 revenues. We estimate the same at USD 3.5 billion for 2022.

The average loss per passenger carried in 2022 is estimated at 7.9 USD by IATA.

The percentage of international routes operated by African airlines compared to Feb 2020 reached 98.7% in August 2022.

However, connectivity is still low in Africa. Currently, up to 22% of Africans traveling between two African cities are forced to travel through non-Africa HUBs either in Europe or the Middle East. This situation can be reversed only through Networks and Schedules Coordination at African hubs.

Connectivity is intricately aligned to trade, business development, and tourism. Currently, the Intra-Africa trade is modest at 18%, which is very low compared to Europe (64%) or Asia, which is above 50%.

Indeed, there are no significant Intra-Africa tourism flows.

If there is no Intra-African trade, business, and tourism development, any traffic growth will strengthen the existing routes and will not serve the intra-Africa connectivity.

At AFRAA, our vision is “a sustainable, interconnected and affordable Air Transport industry in Africa where African Airlines become key players and drivers to African economic development.”

We believe stakeholders’ engagement and commitment are vital drivers to transform the industry.

The first Laboratory on Air Transport Sustainability in Africa was held from 27 June to 01 July 2022 at the AFRAA headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The LAB was necessitated by the urgent need to stop the marginalization of African airlines, restore industry competitiveness, re-gain and retain Intra-Africa traffic and grow Africa’s global market share

The one-week event brought together air transport, trade, and tourism stakeholders from across Africa to develop a roadmap for the sustainability of the African air transport industry.

At the end of 5 days of stocktaking, critical analysis, prognosis, and consensus building, the LAB developed a roadmap with specific actions assigned to stakeholder organizations, with defined timelines for execution. The roadmaps also contained implementation monitoring mechanisms and expected benefits upon complete execution.

A Steering Committee co-chaired by AFRAA and AFCAC, made up of all relevant stakeholder organizations in aviation, trade, tourism, and DFIs will oversee the implementation of the roadmap. AFRAA remains dedicated to steer the actualization of the roadmap which will change the narrative of African aviation.

Dakar, Senegal, 06 September 2022: The Minister of Tourism and Air Transport of the Republic of Senegal,  Alioune Sarr, met AFRAA Secretary General – Mr. Abderahmane Berthé and Air Senegal CEO – Mr. Alioune Badara Fall, ahead of the country’s hosting of the 54^th Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Summit of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in December 2022. The 54^th AFRAA AGA will be held under the high patronage of the Head of State of the Republic of Senegal from 11-13 December 2022 at the Centre International de Conférences Abdou Diouf (CICAD) at the kind invitation of Air Senegal.

During the visit, Mr. Berthé, Alioune Sarr and Mr. Fall deliberated on the state of the airline industry in the country, priorities and plans for the development of the sector, initiatives by AFRAA to address the sustainability of air transport in Africa and the milestones for the staging of the AFRAA AGA.

Addressing a press conference held in Dakar during the visit, Mr. Berthé stated: “AFRAA is pleased to convene top leaders of the air transport industry from across the globe for the Assembly in physical format in Senegal. Deliberations at this year’s Assembly AGA will focus on the theme: “Acing the Roadmap to Sustainable African Aviation”. This will better prepare stakeholders to continue to rebuild Africa’s aviation to make the travel ecosystem more resilient and viable. The Assembly is therefore a critical forum for us to create the much-needed enabling environment for air transport business to thrive and contribute to the continent’s development. Read more “Press Release – Senegal meets AFRAA ahead of hosting the premier gathering of aviation leaders in December 2022”

AFRAA Secretary General – Mr. Abdérahmane Berthé, met the minister of Works and Transport of Uganda, Hon. Gen Edward Katumba Wamala and the Chief Executive officer of Uganda Airlines – Ms. Jenifer Bamuturaki on 22-23 August 2022.

During the visit, Mr. Berthé addressed stakeholders and media in Uganda on 22 August on the state of the airline industry, ongoing initiatives in place to address sustainability of air transport in Africa and the 2023 AFRAA Annual General Assembly (AGA) scheduled to be held in Uganda under the patronage of the Ministry of Works and Transport at the kind invitation of Uganda Airlines.

Notably, on sustainability of air transport industry in Africa, Mr. Berthé highlighted the AFRAA-led industry Laboratory developed a roadmap to redress the marginalization of African airline industry by addressing the challenges facing the sector. The roadmap, which will be tabled for adoption by AU Policy Organs, is structured into 5 projects with targets, strategies, specific actions for each strategy. The projects include:

1. Fuel and customs taxes
2. High taxes and charges
3. Navigation – Free Routing Area (FRA)
4. Implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM)
5. Partnerships between airlines, hospitality and tourism bodies to improve intra-African tourism.

AFRAA envisions a sustainable, interconnected and affordable Air Transport industry in Africa where African Airlines become key players and drivers to African economic development. “We will continue to spearhead the Laboratory outcomes with the relevant stakeholders to ensure that Africa achieves the survival in the short-term and its sustainability in the long-term.” Mr. Berthé stated.

The August 2022 edition of AFRAA Sky-Connect will host Mr. Randal Heisey, Managing Director Commercial Marketing MEA/Russia/Ukraine and CIS, Boeing on 3rd August 2022 from 14h00 EAT (UTC+3).

Join us for a thought-provoking one-on-one dialogue with Mr. Randal Heisey as he shares Boeing’s views and insights on the outlook for Africa, actions on safety and security in Africa, Boeing’s technical support to airlines and initiatives on new technology and environmental sustainability.

Highlights of the dialogue:

• The state of aviation recovery
• Boeing 20-year forecast for African airlines
• Boeing’s actions to sustain gains made in aviation safety and security in Africa
• Technical support to airlines
• Boeing’s initiatives on new technology and environmental sustainability
• Boeing-AFRAA Partnership

Expect nothing but out-of-the-box thinking and far – reaching recommendations to shape Africa’s aviation.

Join us virtually on 03rd August at 14.00hrs EAT
Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3HVYIj7

African Aviation Summit MRO AFRICA, 14 June 2022, Johannesburg – South Africa
AFRAA Secretary General Opening Remarks

All projections highlight the increased number of aircraft to be operated on the African continent in the future.

The need to operate more aircraft to cope with the growing demand is an opportunity for MROs to develop their business.

The leading African MROs are in East, North, and Southern Africa. West and Central Africa do not have MROs performing heavy maintenance.

Maintenance accounts for a large part of airline costs. New maintenance models reducing costs are welcome by Airlines which are seeking for:

–        Shortest maintenance turnarounds,

–        Spare parts and components availability and access,

–        Engine performance monitoring to avoid unscheduled events,

–        Outsourcing line maintenance as an option for their network expansion.

African Airlines must cooperate with MROs, and OEMs to operate at optimum safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness.

In the area of aircraft maintenance, AFRAA has recently initiated two critical projects:

• The Brown Condor Initiative aims to help our members generate revenue by selling African MRO capabilities and excess inventories of spare parts in the US Market. The project targets four MROs; Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, SAA Technical, and EgyptAir. Ethiopian Airlines and Egyptair have already signed the agreement.
• The spare parts pooling project aims to facilitate line maintenance by pooling spare parts at a station and preventing airlines from carrying some spare parts on board their commercial flights. AFRAA has already completed the pooling platform. We hope the 1^st spare parts pooling station will be here in Johannesburg for B737 NGs hosted by South African Airways.

In conclusion, the future growth of the African Air Transport market and the need for new aircraft are opportunities for African Airlines and MROs to cooperate better and take off for sustainable development of African Aviation.

Let us prepare for this exciting future and contribute to the African economic integration.

Release date: 11 April 2022

In recent weeks, the Covid19 infection rate picked up again in Asia and parts of Europe: China is battling a renewed surge in infections, fueled by the Omicron BA.2 sub-variants and is facing its worst epidemic outbreak since 2020. In Hong Kong, hospitals are on the verge of collapse, and Belgium and Germany continue to record new cases of infections. Worldwide, the number of cases has reached 476 million and 11.7 million in Africa. The recovery rate is 98.5% worldwide compared to 97.7 in Africa.

Despite the surge in new infections, countries are lifting travel restrictions – apart from China where some cities are under lockdown. The WHO has criticized the so called “brutal” lifting of anti-Covid-19 restrictions in Europe.

On a different note, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has triggered jet fuel price increases globally. In Africa, the jet fuel price hike is worrying and has the potential to slow down the travel recovery. Platts estimates that the total impact of the price increases on the overall jet fuel bill will reach $86.3 billion based on an estimated average price of $115 per barrel.

In the month of March 2022, AFRAA estimates that African airlines’ capacity reached 67.3% compared to same month in 2019. Similarly, traffic is estimated at 56%.

Domestic market remained bullish with the biggest share for both capacity and actual passenger carried. Domestic demand at 46.5% outperformed intra-Africa and intercontinental which remained subdued at 31.3% and 22.3% for intra-Africa and intercontinental respectively.

Five African airlines continued their international routes expansion drive and had surpassed the number of international routes operated pre-Covid. 10 other African airlines either re-opened suspended routes or launched new international routes. As of February 2022, African airlines had reinstated approximately 79.9% of their pre-Covid international routes.

The Intra-African connectivity reached 72% of the pre-covid level in February. It is estimated to increase to 75% in March because of easing of anti-covid19 restrictions in several African countries. In Algeria, connectivity increased due to the reopening of many destinations particularly to West Africa. Ethiopian airlines, Royal Air Maroc and EgyptAir are among airlines that opened new routes to African destinations in the reporting period.

Across Africa in general, passenger traffic volumes remain depressed. However, with the relaxation of lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions in many countries, traffic is set to rise.

Airline revenues remained low with many operators battling with cash-flow issues. Full year revenue loss for 2022 is estimated at US$4.7b, equivalent to 27.3% of the 2019 revenues. In 2021, African airlines cumulatively lost $8.6b in revenues due to the impact of the pandemic, representing 49.8% of 2019 revenues.

Other government regulatory Developments:

• Effective 18 March 2022, all travelers coming to Kenya who are fully vaccinated shall be exempt from the requirement of a PCR test. All eligible unvaccinated travelers arriving at any port of entry must be in possession of a valid COVID-19 negative PCR test certificate conducted within 72 hours before departure regardless of the route of entry.  And they shall be subjected to rapid antigen test at their own cost of 30 USD. Any person who test positive on antigen RDT will be subjected to PCR test at their own cost of 50 USD and self-isolate. Travelers below the age of five (5) years are exempt from these testing requirements.
• In-bound fully vaccinated passengers arriving in Nigeria will no longer be required to take a pre-departure PCR COVID-19 Test. Moreover, they will not be charged for arrival rapid antigen tests at the airport. Rules that apply to fully vaccinated adults also apply to children aged 10 – 18 years. Passengers who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated shall take a COVID-19 PCR test 48 hours before departure, or do a day 2 and day 7 test on arrival. Such passengers will be expected to pay for their PCR tests through the travel platform. The revised Travel Protocols take effect from 4th April 2022.
• Travellers entering South Africa will need to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test not older than 72 hours. All unvaccinated travellers arriving in South Africa who want to be vaccinated will be offered a vaccination
• Other African Countries that have lifted travel restrictions include Senegal, Tanzania and Togo.
• Finally, the European Council adopted an updated recommendation on the temporary restriction of non-essential travel into the EU. Under this recommendation, Member States should allow non-essential travel for persons vaccinated with an EU- or WHO-approved vaccine, recovered persons, and all persons travelling from a country on the EU list.  This recommendation started to apply on 1 March 2022.

In spite of encouraging vaccination, the position of AFRAA remains that States should not impose mandatory vaccination as a pre-entry and exit requirement for travel, until satisfactory access to vaccines and reasonable vaccination coverage is attained. AFRAA urges governments to remove the PCR test requirements for fully vaccinated passengers.

 

About    AFRAA

The African Airlines Association, also known by its acronym AFRAA, is a trade association of airlines from the member states of the African Union (AU). Founded in Accra, Ghana, in April 1968, and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, AFRAA’s mission is to promote, serve African Airlines and champion Africa’s aviation industry. The Association envisions a sustainable, interconnected and affordable Air Transport industry in Africa where African Airlines become key players and drivers to African economic development.

AFRAA membership of 44 airlines cuts across the entire continent and includes all the major intercontinental African operators. The Association members represent over 85% of total international traffic carried by African airlines. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

The February 2022 edition of AFRAA Sky-Connect will host Mr. Chamsou Andjorin,
Coordinator – African Aviation Industry Group (AAIG).

Join us for a thought-provoking one-on-one dialogue with Mr. Chamsou Andjorin as he shares with stakeholders AAIG’s outlook of the industry in the year ahead, position on the safe resumption of travel and industry group’s actions towards the attainment of sustainability of the air transport sector.

Highlights of the dialogue:
1. The purpose and work of the AAIG.
2. What the industry should expect from AAIG in 2022.
3. Specific actions to address economic sustainability of air transport in Africa, Connectivity and SAATM Implementation.
4. Safety and security in aviation in Africa.

Expect nothing but out-of-the-box thinking and far – reaching recommendations to shape Africa’s aviation.

Please find below the full dialogue session:

AFRAA and Kenya Airways are delighted to welcome the travel ecosystem stakeholders to the 10^th Aviation Stakeholders’ Convention, from 8-10 May 2022 in Nairobi – Kenya, at the Emara Ole Serena Hotel.

AFRAA stages the Aviation Stakeholders Convention every year with the aim to foster dialogue between stakeholders in order to build sustainable networks in supply chain management and create a competitive environment for aviation business in the continent. The event provides a conducive forum for stakeholders to dialogue, interface, exchange knowledge, information and experiences and build networks that identified and proposed feasible solutions to industry challenges.

As part of the conference, there are presentations and panel discussions on trendy subjects in aviation, networking opportunities and one-to-one appointment sessions. The programme also incorporates master classes facilitated by industry experts.

Why attend?

• Networking
• Knowledge exchange
• Business negotiations
• Forge win-win business relationships

Opportunities
Excellent visibility and marketing opportunities through Sponsorship and Exhibition!

Visit the Event Website through this link: 10th Aviation Stakeholders Convention

Contact us
Ms. Maureen Kahonge
Senior Manager Business Development & Communications
African Airlines Association (AFRAA)
P O Box 20116 Nairobi 00200 – Kenya
+254 20 23 20 144 / 23 20 148
Mobile: +254 725 500 470
Email:   mkahonge@afraa.org
Website: www.afraa.org