African governments must do more to stimulate inter-continental trade, which will in turn open up new air routes.

That’s according to Raphael Kuuchi, VP for Africa at IATA, who was speaking at the Spotlight on Africa session at World Routes in Barcelona.

“Traffic between South and North Africa cannot just happen overnight,” he said. “If you look at the business imperative, it hardly exists. There are no trade links.”

Kuuchi added there is therefore no incentive for people to travel from north to south.

“African governments need to make an effort to improve trade in Africa. If we improve inter-country activity then people will have reason to move across the continent.”

Kuuchi said that IATA has forecast that about 180 million passengers travel in Africa per year, but the market is growing at a rate of 5.1 percent. By 2035, it could therefore be in excess of 300 million.

However, he added that restrictive bilateral air service agreements, hindering economic growth and development.