AFRAA appoints new secretary general

The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has named former Air Burkina and Air Mali CEO Abderahmane Berthé as secretary general, succeeding Elijah Chingosho.

Berthé’s appointment was formalized during the association’s annual general assembly (AGA) in Kigali, Rwanda, and will take effect from January. Chingosho has held the position for the past seven years, since January 2011.

“After 16 years as an airline CEO, I know how difficult it can be to run an airline,” Berthé said. “I want AFRAA to be effective and create value for its member airlines and partners. For many, many years, we have been talking about the same things. There has been progress, but not enough.”

Berthé has 28 years’ aviation experience. He was appointed by Air Afrique to run Air Mali between 1993 and 2000, before spending seven years in France. He returned to again run Air Mali, this time for the Aga Khan Foundation, between 2007 and 2014, and then transferred to become CEO of Aga Khan-owned sister carrier Air Burkina in 2014-17. He stepped down in May this year, when Air Burkina was sold back to the Burkina government.

During his time in France, Berthé was an aircraft performance engineer for several companies, including French regional Air Littoral. He is trained in management, aeronautical engineering and as a private pilot.

Priorities under his leadership will include safety and security, connectivity, market access, high industry costs and training.

Notably Berthé is a French speaker. “We are an association of airlines, not languages,” Kenya Airways CEO Sebastian Mikosz said, announcing Berthé’s appointment and switching into French. “Our new secretary general is francophone. I hope, in the future, we can be the body of our industry without being divided by language.”

The next AFRAA AGA will be in French-speaking Morocco, in the city of Rabat, on Nov. 25-27, 2018.