Egyptair is the state-owned flag carrier of Egypt. The airline is headquartered at Cairo International Airport, its main hub, operating scheduled passenger and freight services to more than 75 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Egyptair is a member of Star Alliance.
Ethiopian Airlines, formerly Ethiopian Air Lines (EAL), is Ethiopia's flag carrier and is wholly owned by the country's government. EAL was founded on 21 December 1945 and commenced operations on 8 April 1946, expanding to international flights in 1951. The firm became a share company in 1965 and changed its name from Ethiopian Air Lines to Ethiopian Airlines.
Air Namibia (Pty) Limited, which traded as Air Namibia, was the national airline of Namibia, headquartered in the country's capital, Windhoek. It operated scheduled domestic, regional, and international passenger and cargo services, having its international hub in Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport and a domestic hub at the smaller Windhoek Eros Airport. As of December 2013, the carrier was wholly owned by the Namibian government. Air Namibia was a member of both the International Air Transport Association and the African Airlines Association.
LAM - Mozambique Airlines, S. A. or Linhas Aéreas de Moçambique, Ltd., operating as LAM Mozambique Airlines, is the flag carrier of Mozambique. The airline was established by the Portuguese colonial government of Mozambique in August 1936 as a charter carrier named DETA - Direcção de Exploração de Transportes Aéreos, and was renamed in 1980 following reorganisation. LAM Mozambique Airlines is based in Maputo, and has its hub at Maputo International Airport. It operates scheduled services in Southern Africa. The company is a member of the International Air Transport Association, and of the African Airlines Association since 1976.
Lignes Nationales Aériennes Congolaises, also known as Lina Congo, was the national airline of the Republic of Congo before ECAir in 2010.
Ecuato Guineana de Aviación (EGA) was Equatorial Guinea's national airline, although it now appears to be defunct. Established in 1986, the carrier operated passenger and cargo services in West Africa from its main base in Malabo International Airport.
Air Bissau was the national airline of Guinea-Bissau, operating services from its base at Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau.
Royal Swazi National Airways Corporation was the national airline of the Kingdom of Swaziland. Headquartered in Mbabane with its operational base at Matsapha Airport near Manzini, the airline was founded in 1978. The company still exists, since 2018 under the name Royal Eswatini National Airways Corporation (RENAC), although it does not own an airline, but provides services in the airline sector
Compagnie Nationale Air Guinée, in its latter years known as Air Guinee Express, was an airline based in Conakry, Guinea. Its main base was Conakry International Airport.
Zambia Airways is the flag carrier of the Republic of Zambia. The airline is based in Lusaka, Zambia with its hub at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport.
Bechuanaland National Airways was the national airline of the Bechuanaland Protectorate and was based in Francistown.
Botswana National Airways was an airline based in Gaborone, Botswana.
Air Niger was an airline based in Niamey, Niger.
Puntavia Airline de Djibouti was an airline based in Djibouti City in Djibouti. It was founded in 1991 and initially operated Let L410 Turbolets, on irregular scheduled services from Djibouti to Addis Ababa, Jeddah, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf and Somalia. The airline later operated a mixture of Soviet-built aircraft, as well as a leased Boeing 727. Puntavia ceased all operations in 1996.
Airlines have proliferated in Africa because, in many countries, road and rail networks are not well developed due to financial issues, terrain, and rainy seasons. Ben R. Guttery, author of Encyclopedia of African Airlines, said "Although most of the carriers have never been large by European or American standards, they have had tremendous impact on the economy and the people." Many larger African airlines are owned partially or completely by national governments. Some African airlines have European airlines as major shareholders, such as KLM that has a 7.8% stake in Kenya Airways and British Airways that has an 18% stake in Comair.
Air Brousse was a Congolese airline. The carrier was formed in 1955 by a group of Belgians and flew services within the Belgian Congo, mainly from Leopoldville and Luluabourg. Air Brousse also operated feeder services for Sabena. It had its headquarters in Leopoldville.
Sun Air was a South African airline, originally owned by the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana, and later privatised. It ceased operations in 1999.
