Freedom Flights

Freedom Flight is the story of two ordinary men on an extraordinary adventure. In celebration of the centenary of powered flight and a decade of South African independence, SA pilots Alan Honeyborne and Ricky De Agrela took off, completely unsupported, from Cape Town on 16 December 2003. Their aim – to touch down on each continent of the world on the longest expedition ever flown in microlights. The expedition achieved several firsts for private aviation including flying through Yemen and Nepal and completing an unsupported microlight flight from South Africa to Australia. However, tragedy struck, first in China where Alan went down and later in Belize, when Alan’s replacement, Martin Walker, also sustained a fatal accident. Ricky overcame personal trauma and debilitating fear to fly alone from England through Europe, over the Mediterranean Sea, the Sahara Desert and the wildernesses of East and Southern Africa to make it back to Cape Town. His accomplishment embodies the expedition’s vision of encouraging others to reach for the sky. The story of Ricky’s remarkable achievement is told in website updates and e-mail correspondence with maps detailing the 64 000-kilometre route.

In Africa, where poor roads, ports, and railways often constrain efficient transportation, air transport holds great potential as a lever for economic growth and development. Yet Africa has suffered several decades of inefficient air services. Uncompetitive flag carriers, set up by newly independent African states, offered primarily intercontinental flights, while the domestic air service market remained underdeveloped and underserved. The 1999 pan-African treaty on liberalization of access to air transport markets, the Yamoussoukro Decision, attempted to address these shortcomings. Yet a decade later, only partial liberalization has been achieved. 'Open Skies for Africa: Implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision' reviews progress made in carrying out the treaty and suggests ways in which the liberalization process can be encouraged. The book analyzes the completed and still-pending steps toward implementation of the Yamoussoukro Decision, both on a pan-African level and within various regions. Special focus is given to the challenges posed by the poor aviation safety and security standards that exist in most African countries. Finally, the book measures the impact that certain policy steps of the Yamoussoukro Decision have had and evaluates the economic significance of air transportation and its full liberalization in Africa. The book concludes that the process of liberalizing African air services must continue, and provides policy recommendations for the way forward.

Examines the history of Cuban immigration to the United States, discussing why they came, what they did when they got here, where they settled, and customs they brought with them.

A study prepared by the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)