Air Djibouti was due to relaunch today after a 14-year hiatus. But its maiden flight to Addis Ababa has been delayed until next week due to “procedural issues” with Ethiopia’s regulator. Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and Uganda are also looking to resurrect their national airlines. That sounds sensible, given that air travel within the continent is still expensive, and can require convoluted stopovers in Europe. Liberalising the skies in just 12 countries would add 81% more passengers, 155,000 new jobs and $1.3 billion to GDP, according to IATA, an industry body. But many of Africa’s surviving flag carriers, notably those in South Africa and Kenya, are propped up by their governments; Ethiopian Airlines, arguably the continent’s only successful flag carrier, dominates the region’s skies. Africa’s airspace could benefit from more competition, but Djibouti may find it difficult going wing-to-wing with its larger neighbour when it does eventually take off.