The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) heralds a milestone in African aviation as Free Route Airspace (FRA) takes flight in West and Central Africa.
This transformative milestone in African aviation saw the full operational deployment of Free Route Airspace (FRA) in the Western and Central Africa (WACAF) region, effective 30 October 2025.
This cuts flight times and reduces fuel burn for airlines. It translates into shorter journeys for passengers.
It therefore boosts competitiveness and profitability for airlines and makes a significant commitment to environmental sustainability.
FRA ENABLES DIRECT ROUTES TO AFRICA
This landmark achievement, transitioning from successful trials initiated in November 2023, will allow any airline to plan and fly more direct User Preferred Routes (UPRs), significantly enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of air travel across the continent.
“The implementation of Free Route Airspace in the WACAF region is a game-changer for African aviation,” said Mr. Abdérahmane Berthé, AFRAA Secretary General.
UPRs allow airlines to fly the most fuel-efficient and timely paths based on current conditions, rather than having to follow fixed, conventional routes, giving the pilots more flexibility and enabling them to adjust to factors like weather and winds, leading to reduced fuel consumption, shorter flight times and lower carbon emissions.
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has supported the FRA initiative since the trials begun in 2023, in accordance with its Memorandum of Understanding with AFRAA and in line with the Global Air Navigation Plan of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the conclusions of the Africa-India (AFI) FRA Planning and Implementation Regional Group.
The deployment of the FRA represents a decisive step resulting from a collaborative effort between air operators and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) who reached a consensus at a joint workshop in Dakar, Senegal to conclude the trial phase and move to full implementation.
Commenting on the FRA initiative, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Afreximbank, said: “Efficient, safe, and well-regulated air services are critical to facilitating intra-African trade, tourism and connectivity in line with the objectives of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Afreximbank is fully committed to supporting the full implementation of SAATM and the establishment of an effective and efficient aviation industry through a range of financing instruments, including its aircraft leasing platform as well as trade facilitation interventions.”
BENEFITS FOR AIRLINES
In a powerful demonstration of the initiative’s potential, six leading African airlines including Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, EGYPTAIR, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir and ASKY Airlines were granted approval for UPRs, connecting 30 key city pairs.
The shift to UPRs is expected to generate significant annual returns to participating airlines including over 1,393 hours of cumulative flight time saved, cutting 5,000 metric tonnes of fuel burn and therefore avoiding some 16,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, and a reduction in annual fuel costs of about US$ 15 million.
FREE ROUTE AIRSPACE FOR ALL
The WACAF airspace is now open for free routes. Starting 30 October 2025, any airline can plan and operate User Preferred Routes.
The region’s ANSPs have committed to approving newly requested UPR within 48 hours. Furthermore, following final administrative work by the 24 WACAF States, this process will be further streamlined, with approvals no longer required for new UPR requests from mid-2026.
MAKING IT AFRICA-WIDE IN THE FUTURE
The success in WACAF paves the way for the next phase of continental integration. The focus for 2026 will shift to the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAF) airspace to conclude trials and achieve a similar FRA implementation.
The region is also committed to developing a web-based coordination platform to streamline operations for airlines and ANSPs.
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