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The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) heralds a transformative milestone in African aviation with the full operational deployment of Free Route Airspace (FRA) in the Western and Central Africa (WACAF) region, effective 30 October 2025.

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.

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.

"The implementation of Free Route Airspace in the WACAF region is a game-changer for African aviation," said Mr. Abdérahmane Berthé, AFRAA Secretary General. "This is a testament to what we can achieve through collaboration. By cutting flight times and fuel consumption, we are not only boosting the competitiveness and profitability of our airlines but also making a significant commitment to environmental sustainability. We extend our profound gratitude to Afreximbank and all stakeholders who have journeyed with us for their unwavering commitment to this vision: the Western and Central African Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), Agence pour la Sécurité de la Navigation Aérienne en Afrique et à Madagascar (ASECNA), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Régie des Voies Aériennes (RVA), Roberts Flight Information Region (Roberts FIR), The International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO."

While 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.

Substantial Benefits for Launch 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 tonnesof 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.

A Free Route Airspace for all

Crucially, 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.

A Continent-wide Vision for 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.

Contact:
For more information, please contact: AFRAA: afraa@afraa.org

Media Contact:
Vincent Musumba
Communications and Events Manager (Media Relations)
Email: press@afreximbank.com

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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 of African economic development. AFRAA membership 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.

About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade. For over 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa's trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank has set up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2024, Afreximbank's total assets and contingencies stood at over US$40.1 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$7.2 billion. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody's (Baa2), China Chengxin International Credit Rating Co., Ltd (CCXI) (AAA), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB-). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its equity impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, "the Group"). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com

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As Sudan's civil war intensified on Monday, top UN officials condemned the killing of dozens of children in drone strikes in South Kordofan state – and the targeting of first responders trying to help the wounded.

In a statement issued by his Spokesperson, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that he was appalled to learn that multiple drone strikes on 4 December had hit a children's nursery and a hospital in Kalogi, where the injured were being treated.

Echoing those concerns, the head of UN World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that Kalogi Rural Hospital had been targeted at least three times, killing 114 people including 63 children.

Blood bank call

Survivors from those strikes have been moved to Abu Jebaiha Hospital in South Kordofan for treatment “and urgent calls are being made for blood donations and other medical support”, Tedros noted in a statement posted on X.

“Disturbingly, paramedics and responders came under attack as they tried to move the injured from the kindergarten to the hospital,” Tedros added.

On the same day as those attacks, an aid convoy was also targeted in North Kordofan state. It had been transporting lifesaving supplies to North Darfur when it came under fire, seriously injuring the driver of a UN World Food Programme (WFP) truck.

“The Secretary-General deplores this further attack on humanitarian operations at a time of dire needs,” the statement continued.   

Suffering on a huge scale

Aid agencies warn that the situation across Sudan remains catastrophic for millions of people caught up in heavy fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

In the central Kordofan region in particular, dire conditions are worsening still as life-saving supplies run low, while famine conditions have been confirmed in South Kordofan's state capital, Kadugli.

“As fighting intensifies, the horrific human rights violations and abuses reported in El Fasher in recent months, as well as reports of serious violations of international humanitarian law, must not be repeated in the Kordofan region,” the UN chief's Spokesperson insisted.

And amid reports of continued foreign involvement in the Sudan conflict, “the Secretary-General calls on all States with influence over the parties to take immediate action and use their leverage to compel an immediate halt to the fighting and stop the arms flows” that are fuelling it, his Spokesperson's statement added.

“The Secretary-General renews his call on the parties to agree on an immediate cessation of hostilities and to resume talks to reach a lasting ceasefire and a comprehensive, inclusive and Sudanese-owned political process. The United Nations stands ready to support genuine steps to end the fighting in Sudan and chart a path towards a durable peace.”

UN rights chief's plea

The development comes after the UN's human rights chief, Volker Türk, said that he feared “another wave of atrocities” in Sudan.

Since late October, hundreds of civilians have been killed and tens of thousands more have fled aerial strikes, shelling and summary executions, he said, amid mass civilian displacement involving more than 45,000 people fleeing violence and seeking safety in or near to Kordofan region.

“Safe passage for those fleeing the horror of famine, death and destruction is essential and a human rights imperative,” the High Commissioner's office said.

In an appeal for “urgent diplomatic action” the WFP's Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau insisted that greater attention was needed to prevent further atrocities and help reverse famine.

More than 30 million people in Sudan now need humanitarian assistance and more than nine million have been displaced inside the country since fighting erupted in April 2023 between the SAF and paramilitary RSF.