Balloons and opportunities for aviation in Africa

It is reported that the hot air balloon is the first successful flight technology which carried human beings. Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier was said to have carried out the first hot air balloon flight on November 21, 1783 in Paris, France. The balloon used was the handwork of the Montgolfier brothers.

A hot air balloon is an aircraft that is lighter- than- air. It is made up of a bag, referred to as an envelope which holds heated air. There is also a wicker basket or capsule on those balloons which are for high altitude or long distance. It enables the balloon to carry passengers and have a heat source. In most cases the source of heat is an open flame that comes from burning liquid propane.

Balloons have low density and low cost. This has enabled a wide range of applications such as entertainment, meteorology, medical treatment, military defence and transportation.

An Internet search on experiences of people in the use of balloons has revealed that right from the 19th Century, balloons have been useful to man. A story is told of the balloon experience of an army general, General Fitz John Porter on April 11, 1862. The balloon carrying him snapped from where it was tethered and then drifted into the skies over the territory of the Confederates. However, the army general kept his cool, carefully took notes of what he could see on the ground, and he patiently waited and hoped for the balloon to drift back into friendly territory, and by a miracle it did return.

As at the time of the American civil war, there were no planes, helicopters or drones but there were balloons. These were used for espionage. The hot air balloons were tethered to the ground and then used to get an aerial view of the terrain all around.

In 1870, there was the siege of Paris such that the city was surrounded and the citizens were unable to have contact with the world outside. Pushed to the wall, the City of Paris put together a fleet of hot air balloons. They were then sent out loaded with information, passengers, and on some occasions, carrier Pigeons. This was done at night with some surprising success. Between 1870 and 1871, it was reported that about 2.5 million letters were delivered beyond enemy lines.

Africa in recent times is contending with a siege of insurgency, terrorism, ethnic and tribal clashes, among others. Perhaps, the innovative thinking of the Parisians and Americans could provide an inspiration to Africans and her airport operators. There could be opportunities for sustainable revenue streams beyond the mantra of growing non-aeronautical revenue streams within the airport. There could be opportunities in balloons too.

In remote communities in Africa, getting network signals can be a challenge. It was reported that a major Internet company had the intention to send balloons into the stratosphere some years ago. The balloons would then beam network signals down to areas on Earth  with little or no Internet coverage. Then there have been test flights that proved successful in New Zealand, California, and Brazil.

One can imagine an airport in, say, Kano hoisting a balloon along with an Internet company for better quality Internet access at both the airport and some tourist resort or areas of trade with poor Internet access challenges. There would not only be improved customer experience that will improve on airport revenue streams but added revenue streams from innovative thinking.

To survive, airports in Africa need to think innovatively across the industry value chain. Trying to tilt the scale in favour of non- aeronautical revenues from working assets at the airport may be a long struggle that could eclipse the thought process of taking opportunities from innovative thinking.

Logistics, for instance, is the next big opportunity in the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Single African Air Transport Market. Communication and its technology, therefore, become an important component of this new move across Africa.

So, African airports will need to look at investing outside and around the airport communities tapping into emerging opportunities in the aviation industry value chain for sustainable revenue streams.

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