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][15][16][17][18][19][20] | ||||
| 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 | [21][22] | ||
| 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 | [23] | |||
| 7 | Tunisia | Tunisair7 | 3.8 | 3.5 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.7 | [24] | ||||||||
| 8 | South Africa | FlySafair | 3.0 | [25] | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Nigeria | Air Peace | 2.80 | 2.30 | [26] | |||||||||||||||
| 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 | [27] | |||||
| 11 | Libya | Libyan Airlines | 1.2 | [28] | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | Rwanda | RwandAir | 1.17 | 1.14 | 0.89 | 0.59 | 0.60 | 0.50 | 0.41 | 0.36 | 0.20 | 1.13 | [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][12][48][49] | |||||||
| 13 | 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 | [50] | |||||
| 14 | Libya | Afriqiyah Airways | 0.5 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 | [51][52][53][44][46][12] | ||||||||||
| 15 | Cote d'Ivoire | Air Côte d'Ivoire | 0.3 | 0.76 | 0.72 | 0.60 | 0.40 | 0.25 | [54][55][56][57][58][59][60] [61][62][63] | |||||||||||
| 16 | Tanzania | Air Tanzania | 0.060 | 0.207 | [64][65] |
By passenger fleet
| Rank | Country | Airline | Passenger Fleet |
Current Destinations |
Alliance / Association |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ethiopia | Ethiopian Airlines | 168[66] | 161 passenger[67] | Star Alliance |
| 2 | South Africa | Airlink | 70 | 51[68] | |
| 3 | Egypt | Egyptair | 68 | 102[69] | Star Alliance |
| 4 | Algeria | Air Algérie | 56 | 78[70] | |
| 5 | Morocco | Royal Air Maroc | 50 | 89[71] | Oneworld |
| 6 | Kenya | Kenya Airways | 37 | 44[72] | SkyTeam |
| 7 | Egypt | Air Cairo | 36 | 61[73] | |
| 8 | South Africa | FlySafair | 36 (2026)[74] | 15 | |
| 9 | Tunisia | Tunisair | 30 | 44[75] | |
| 10 | Namibia | Westair Aviation | 30 | 10 | |
| 11 | Nigeria | Air Peace | 29 | 20 | |
| 12 | Angola | TAAG Angola Airlines | 28 | 31 | |
| 13 | South Africa | South African Airways | 19 (2025)[76] | 17 (2025)[76] | Star Alliance |
| 14 | Tanzania | Air Tanzania | 15 | 31 | |
| 15 | Cote d'Ivoire | Air Côte d'Ivoire | 14 | 27 | |
| 16 | Rwanda | RwandAir | 14 | 25[77] | |
| 17 | Mauritius | Air Mauritius | 12 | 14[78] | Vanilla Alliance |
| 18 | Libya | Afriqiyah Airways | 8 | 20 | |
| 18 | Egypt | Petroleum Air Services | 8 | 8 | |
| 19 | Egypt | AlMasria Universal Airlines | 8 | 5 | |
| 20 | Libya | Libyan Airlines | 7 | 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
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