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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.
| Ranks | Country | Airline / Holding | '21 | '20 | '19 | '18 | '17 | '16 | '15 | '14 | '13 | '12 | '11 | '10 | '09 | '08 | '07 | '06 | '05 | Passenger Fleet | Current Destinations | Sources | Alliance / Association |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  South Africa | South African Airways 1 | 9.7 | 9.9 | 9.2 | 9.3 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.2 | 8.9 | 8.3 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 2 | 16 | [2] [3] [4] | Star Alliance | ||||
| 2 |  Ethiopia | Ethiopian Airlines 2 | 9.66 | 12.10 | 10.63 | 8.76 | 7.60 | 7.39 | 6.91 | 5.92 | 4.64 | 3.73 | 3.15 | 2.81 | 2.50 | 2.10 | 1.80 | 1.60 | 145 [5] | 155 | [2] [6] [7] | Star Alliance | |
| 3 |  Egypt | EgyptAir 3 | 8.5 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 8.2 | 11.8 | 8.3 | 8.0 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 7.8 | - | - | 77 | 102 [8] | [2] [9] [10] | Star Alliance | ||||
| 4 |  Tunisia | Tunisair 4 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.8 | 30 | 44 [11] | [12] | ||||
| 5 |  Morocco | Royal Air Maroc 5 | 3.4 | 2.2 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 6.8 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 6.1 | - | - | - | 1.6 | 52 | 89 [13] | [2] [14] [15] | OneWorld |
| 6 | South Africa | FlySafair | 3.0 | 34 | 15 [16] | [17] | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 |  Nigeria | Air Peace | 2.80 | 2.30 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 29 | 20 | [18] | |||||||||
| 8 |  Kenya | Kenya Airways 8 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 4.4 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 2.90 | 2.80 | 2.70 | 34 | 44 [19] | [20] | SkyTeam | ||
| 9 |  Algeria | Air Algérie | 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 | 2.9 | - | - | 56 | 78 [21] | [22] [23] [24] [25] [23] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] | ||
| 10 |  Mauritius | Air Mauritius 10 | 1.724 | 1.695 | 1.603 | 1.499 | 1.370 | 1.330 | 1.297 | 1.325 | 1.295 | 1.133 | 1.192 | 1.311 | 1.177 | - | - | 10 | 12 [34] | [35] | Vanilla Alliance | ||
| 11 |  Libya | Libyan Airlines | - | 1.2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | 22 | [36] |
O. R. Tambo International Airport is an international airport serving the twin cities of Johannesburg and the main capital of South Africa, Pretoria. It is situated in Kempton Park, Gauteng. It serves as the primary airport for domestic and international travel for South Africa and since 2020, it is Africa's second busiest airport, with a capacity to handle up to 28 million passengers annually. The airport serves as the hub for South African Airways. The airport handled over 21 million passengers in 2017.
Kenya Airways Ltd., more commonly known as Kenya Airways, is the flag carrier airline of Kenya. The company was founded in 1977, after the dissolution of East African Airways. Its head office is located in Embakasi, Nairobi, with its hub at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 222 destinations worldwide. It is a founding member of the Star Alliance. Air Canada's major hubs are at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), Montréal–Trudeau International Airport (YUL), and Vancouver International Airport (YVR).
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 81 destinations in Africa, Europe, Asia, and The Americas. Egyptair is a member of Star Alliance.
Air Algérie SpA is the flag carrier of Algeria, with its head office in the Immeuble El-Djazair in Algiers. With flights operating from Houari Boumedienne Airport, Air Algérie operates scheduled international services to 39 destinations in 28 countries in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as domestic services to 32 airports. As of December 2013, Air Algérie was 100% owned by the Government of Algeria.
Royal Air Maroc, more commonly known as RAM, is the Moroccan national carrier, as well as the country's largest airline, ranking among the largest in Africa.
Precision Air Services Plc is a Tanzanian airline based at Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam. The airline operates scheduled passenger services to Nairobi, Entebbe, and to various airports and airstrips throughout Tanzania.
Madagascar Airlines is an airline based in Antananarivo, Madagascar. It is the flag carrier of Madagascar; it operates services to Europe, Asia and neighbouring African and Indian Ocean island destinations, from its main base, Ivato International Airport in Antananarivo. It also operates an extensive domestic network.
Air Burkina SA is the national airline of Burkina Faso, operating scheduled services from its main base at Ouagadougou Airport to one domestic destination, Bobo-Dioulasso, as well as regional services to Togo, Benin, Mali, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Ghana. From 2001 to 2017, the airline was majority owned by an AKFED/IPS consortium, but is now back in government ownership, with reports that a new investor is being sought.
Air Botswana Corporation is Botswana's state-owned national flag carrier, with its headquarters located in Gaborone. It operates scheduled domestic and regional flights from its main base at Sir Seretse Khama International Airport. Air Botswana has been loss-making for several years, and there have been various attempts to privatise the company, and frequent changes to the corporation's management and board, so far without reducing the losses.
TAAG Angola Airlines E.P. is a state-owned airline and flag carrier of Angola. Based in Luanda, the airline operates domestic services within Angola, medium-haul services in Africa and long-haul services to Brazil, Cuba, and Portugal. The airline was originally set up by the government as DTA – Divisão dos Transportes Aéreos in 1938, rechristened TAAG Angola Airlines in 1973, and gained flag carrier status in 1975. It is now a member of both the International Air Transport Association and the African Airlines Association.
The largest airlines in the world can be defined in several ways. As of 2023, Delta Air Lines is the largest by revenue, assets value, fleet size, and market capitalization; American Airlines Group by passengers carried, revenue passenger mile, number of employees and destinations served; FedEx Express by freight tonne-kilometers; Ryanair by number of routes; and Turkish Airlines by number of countries served.
Afriqiyah Airways is a Libyan airline based in Tripoli, Libya. It was established in 2001 and operates both domestic and international flights. The airline's main hub is Tripoli International Airport (TIP), and it serves a wide range of destinations across Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.
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.
Tassili Airlines is an Algerian passenger airline, based in Algiers, owned by Sonatrach, the national state-owned oil company of Algeria.
Aviapartner, whose origins date back to 1949 under the name of Herfurth Air Services to become 'Belgavia' in the late 1960s, is a Belgian company that provides ground handling services at 37 airports in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands. Among the airports served are Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, Düsseldorf, Rome, Nice, Toulouse and Málaga.
RwandAir Limited is the flag carrier airline of Rwanda. It operates domestic and international services to East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from its main base at Kigali International Airport in Kigali.
FlySafair is an international low-cost airline based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a subsidiary of Safair and flies to 15 destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company slogan is For The Love Of Flying.
Congo Airways S.A. is the state-owned flag carrier airline of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). With a paid-up capital of US$90 million, it started operations on 20 October 2015.
