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

References

  1. ^ "The biggest airlines in Africa".
  2. ^ "Ethiopian Factsheet (2008-2018)" (PDF). Ethiopian Airlines. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  3. ^ "Ethiopian Factsheet (2011-2020)" (PDF). Ethiopian Airlines. January 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  4. ^ 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).
  5. ^ "Ethiopian Fact Sheet 2013-2023" (PDF). Ethiopian Airlines. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Annual Report 2023-24" (PDF). Ethiopian Airlines. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Leading airline groups by traffic".
  8. ^ "Financial Results - South African Airways" (PDF). Flysaa.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2018-08-05.
  9. ^ "Member Airline Information | About Staralliance | Star Alliance Employees Portal". Archived from the original on 2014-05-03. Retrieved 2014-05-03.
  10. ^ "Egyptair struggles to fully recover; launches four new destinations this week, including Manchester and Toronto". 5 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Member Airline Details". www.staralliance.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-07.
  12. ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2018" (PDF). AFRAA. 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  13. ^ "Royal Air Maroc turns 60 years old". anna.aero. 19 October 2017.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Royal Air Maroc to become 14th oneworld member was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Here is how many passengers top 10 African Airlines managed to airlift in 2018". PulseLive KE. 14 May 2019.
  16. ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2020" (PDF). AFRAA. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  17. ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2021" (PDF). AFRAA. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  18. ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2022" (PDF). AFRAA. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  19. ^ "AFRAA Annual Report 2023" (PDF). AFRAA. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Kenya Airways | Annual Reports". Kenya Airways. 2023-07-24. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  21. ^ "Kenya airways record profit". Reuters. 25 March 2025.
  22. ^ "Annual Reports - AFRAA - African Airlines Association". 2018-11-14. Archived from the original on 22 November 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-23.
  23. ^ "Tunisair sees traffic rebound 20% in 2012; plans long-haul flights to America, Canada and South Africa". 17 April 2013.
  24. ^ "FlySafair 2021 Report" (PDF). FlySafair. 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  25. ^ "CAPA - Centre for Aviation". centreforaviation.com.
  26. ^ "Air France and Air Mauritius renew and extend their cooperation agreement : Air France - Corporate". Archived from the original on 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2014-03-09.
  27. ^ "Libyan Airlines targets half of all international flights for 2014 -". www.libyaherald.com. 2 April 2013.
  28. ^ "Annual Report 2023" (PDF). afraa. 2023. Retrieved 2024-09-14.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference Air Côte d’Ivoire: 253 000 passagers en 2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ "Le Mag January/February 2015". Air Côte d’Ivoire. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ "Aérien : entre Air Côte d'Ivoire et Asky Airlines, match de haut vol - JeuneAfrique.com" (in French). 18 March 2016.
  33. ^ "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.
  34. ^ "" 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.
  35. ^ "Interview with René Decurey, General Manager of Air Côte d'Ivoire". Marcopolis. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  36. ^ "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.
  37. ^ "Ivorian govt approves $24mln in aid for national airline". Ecofin Agency. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  38. ^ "En 2020, Air Cote d'Ivoire a perdu pres de 460 000 passagers" (in French). NewsAero. 20 February 2021.
  39. ^ "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.
  40. ^ "ATCL aircrafts [sic] flying abroad run the risk of being impounded, says CAG". The Citizen. 8 April 2021.
  41. ^ "Ethiopian Airlines Commercial Fleet". Ethiopian Airlines. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  42. ^ "Ethiopian Airlines to Commence Five New Int'l Destinations During Current Fiscal Year". 2 October 2024.
  43. ^ "Airlink Route Map". FlightConnections. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  44. ^ "EgyptAir on ch-aviation.com". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  45. ^ "Air Algérie on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  46. ^ "Royal Air Maroc on ch-aviation.com". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  47. ^ "Kenya Airways on ch-aviation.com". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  48. ^ "Tunisair on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  49. ^ "Air Mauritius on ch-aviation". ch-aviation. Retrieved 4 December 2023.