List of largest airlines in Africa
Even though Africa is the second largest continent by size and population, its airlines account for only about 6% of the world's air traffic, as most of it is being carried out by foreign air lines.[1]
This is a list of largest airlines in Africa. It is ranked by number of transported passengers.
By passengers carried (millions)
| Rank | Country | Airline | '24 | '23 | '22 | '21 | '20 | '19 | '18 | '17 | '16 | '15 | '14 | '13 | '12 | '11 | '10 | '09 | '08 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethiopia | Ethiopian Airlines1 | 17.1 | 13.8 | 8.6 | 5.7 | 9.6 | 12.1 | 10.6 | 8.7 | 7.6 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 5.2 | 4.6 | 3.7 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.5 | [2][3][4][5][6] |
| 2 | South Africa | South African Airways2 | 9.7 | 9.9 | 9.2 | 9.3 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.9 | [7][8][9] | |||||||
| 3 | Egypt | Egyptair3 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 11.8 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 8.2 | [7][10][11] | |||||||
| 4 | Morocco | Royal Air Maroc4 | 5.6 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.1 | [12][13][14][4][15][16][17][18][19] | ||||
| 5 | Kenya | Kenya Airways5 | 5.23 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 7.9 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.9 | [20][21] | ||
| 6 | Algeria | Air Algérie | 4.6 | 1.9 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.2 | [22] | |||
| 7 | Tunisia | Tunisair7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 | [23] | ||||||||
| 8 | South Africa | FlySafair | 3.0 | [24] | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Nigeria | Air Peace | 2.80 | 2.30 | [25] | |||||||||||||||
| 10 | Mauritius | Air Mauritius10 | 1.724 | 1.695 | 1.603 | 1.499 | 1.370 | 1.330 | 1.297 | 1.325 | 1.295 | 1.133 | 1.192 | 1.311 | [26] | |||||
| 11 | Libya | Libyan Airlines | 1.2 | [27] | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Angola | TAAG Angola Airlines | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 1.1 | [28] | |||||
| 13 | Cote d'Ivoire | Air Côte d'Ivoire | 0.3 | 0.76 | 0.72 | 0.60 | 0.40 | 0.25 | [29][30][31][32][33][34][35] [36][37][38] | |||||||||||
| 14 | Tanzania | Air Tanzania | 0.060 | 0.207 | [39][40] |
By passenger fleet
| Rank | Country | Airline | Passenger Fleet |
Current Destinations |
Alliance / Association |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethiopia | Ethiopian Airlines | 167[41] | 161 passenger[42] | Star Alliance |
| 2 | South Africa | Airlink | 70 | 51[43] | |
| 3 | Egypt | Egyptair | 67 | 102[44] | Star Alliance |
| 4 | Algeria | Air Algérie | 56 | 78[45] | |
| 5 | Morocco | Royal Air Maroc | 50 | 89[46] | Oneworld |
| 6 | Kenya | Kenya Airways | 37 | 44[47] | SkyTeam |
| 7 | South Africa | FlySafair | 37 | 15 | |
| 8 | Tunisia | Tunisair | 30 | 44[48] | |
| 9 | Namibia | Westair Aviation | 30 | 10 | |
| 10 | Nigeria | Air Peace | 29 | 20 | |
| 11 | Angola | TAAG Angola Airlines | 28 | 31 | |
| 12 | South Africa | South African Airways | 18 | 15 | Star Alliance |
| 13 | Tanzania | Air Tanzania | 15 | 28 | |
| 14 | Cote d'Ivoire | Air Côte d'Ivoire | 12 | 27 | |
| 15 | Mauritius | Air Mauritius | 12 | 14[49] | Vanilla Alliance |
| 16 | Libya | Libyan Airlines | 5 | 22 |
- Notes
- ^1 Based on Fiscal Year ending 7 Jul.
- ^2 Based on Fiscal Year ending 31 Mar. Includes figures for Mango.
- ^3 Includes figures for Air Sinai and EgyptAir Express.
- ^4 Includes figures for Royal Air Maroc Express.
- ^5 Based on Fiscal Year ending 30 Jun. Includes figures for Jambojet.
- ^7 Includes figures for Tunisair Express.
- ^10 Based on Fiscal Year ending 30 Jun.
See also
- List of airlines of Africa
- List of defunct airlines of Africa
- List of the busiest airports in Africa by passenger traffic
- World's largest airlines
- List of largest airlines in Europe
- List of largest airlines in Central America & the Caribbean
- List of largest airlines in North America
- List of largest airlines in Asia
- List of largest airlines in South America
- List of largest airlines in Oceania
References
- ^ "The biggest airlines in Africa".
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- ^ a b "Ethiopian fact sheet (2013-2022)" (PDF). Ethiopian Airlines. 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023. Cite error: The named reference ":0" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Ethiopian Fact Sheet 2013-2023" (PDF). Ethiopian Airlines. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ "Annual Report 2023-24" (PDF). Ethiopian Airlines. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ^ a b "Leading airline groups by traffic".
- ^ "Financial Results - South African Airways" (PDF). Flysaa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
- ^ "Member Airline Information | About Staralliance | Star Alliance Employees Portal". Archived from the original on 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
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- ^ "Member Airline Details". www.staralliance.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-07.
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- ^ "Kenya airways record profit". Reuters. 25 March 2025.
- ^ "Annual Reports - AFRAA - African Airlines Association". 2018-11-14. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
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- ^ "FlySafair 2021 Report" (PDF). FlySafair. 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "CAPA - Centre for Aviation". centreforaviation.com.
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- ^ "Libyan Airlines targets half of all international flights for 2014 -". www.libyaherald.com. 2 April 2013.
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- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Air Côte d’Ivoire: 253 000 passagers en 2013was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Le Mag January/February 2015". Air Côte d’Ivoire. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ "Nouvelle augmentation de capital pour Air Côte d'Ivoire (New capital increase for Air Côte d'Ivoire)" (in French). Jeune Afrique. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ "Aérien : entre Air Côte d'Ivoire et Asky Airlines, match de haut vol - JeuneAfrique.com" (in French). 18 March 2016.
- ^ "Air Cote d'Ivoire turnover up 34 percent; plans to raise capital". Reuters. 30 January 2016. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ "" Nous serons rentables à partir de 2018 " – René Décurey, Directeur général d'Air Côte d'Ivoire ("We will be profitable from 2018" – René Décurey, General Manager of Air Côte d'Ivoire)" (in French). Jeune Afrique. 27 July 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ "Interview with René Decurey, General Manager of Air Côte d'Ivoire". Marcopolis. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ "Guinée : Air Côte-D'Ivoire inaugure son nouveau siège à Conakry! (Guinea: Air Côte-D'Ivoire inaugurates its new base in Conakry!)" (in French). Africaguinee.com. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Ivorian govt approves $24mln in aid for national airline". Ecofin Agency. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ "En 2020, Air Cote d'Ivoire a perdu pres de 460 000 passagers" (in French). NewsAero. 20 February 2021.
- ^ "Guidelines for the preparation of Annual Plan and Budget for 2012/13" (PDF). The United Republic of Tanzania. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ "ATCL aircrafts [sic] flying abroad run the risk of being impounded, says CAG". The Citizen. 8 April 2021.
- ^ "Ethiopian Airlines Commercial Fleet". Ethiopian Airlines. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "Ethiopian Airlines to Commence Five New Int'l Destinations During Current Fiscal Year". 2 October 2024.
- ^ "Airlink Route Map". FlightConnections. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
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