Flying to Africa and flying within Africa
Africa was not exactly known for its efficient and safe network of flight connections. In recent years, however, the situation has greatly improved, both in terms of efficiency and safety. Those traveling to the continent have a growing number of airline connections to choose from, and options are also increasing on regional routes. We list the options on how to best fly to Africa or fly within Africa.
Flying to Africa
KLM and Brussels Airlines
For starters, direct flights. Direct flights by KLM from Schiphol and Africa specialist Brussels Airlines from Brussels are the most obvious. KLM currently offers direct flights to ten African destinations from Schiphol. There were 12 until the end of January, but Monrovia and Freetown have been dropped. Brussels Airlines flies to eightten destinations in Africa.
Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, SWISS, Iberia and ITA Airways
Other European airlines such as Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, SWISS, Iberia and ITA Airways offer connections to numerous African destinations through their respective home bases. In doing so, Air France and BA have traditionally specialized in flights to French-speaking and English-speaking countries in Africa, respectively.
With Turkish Airlines to Africa
No airline flies to as many African destinations as Turkish Airlines. The network now includes 55 destinations on the continent, all of which are flown from Istanbul. For those traveling to West Africa from the Netherlands, that's a considerable detour, but for those who need to be in East or Southern Africa, it's quite manageable.
Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways
The same is actually true for Gulf airlines. Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways maintain an extensive African route network, although a stopover in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha does add several hours to the trip. makes. For those going to North or West Africa won't be convenient, but on a trip to East or Southern Africa, the extra travel time is still manageable with a favorable transfer.
African companies
The choice of African airlines with flights to Europe is more limited. It is possible to fly to Africa with Royal Air Maroc (via Casablanca) or EgyptAir (via Cairo). Flying within Africa to go further into Africa is also possible. The best known airlines from sub-Saharan Africa are Ethiopian, Africa's largest airline, flying from Brussels to Addis Ababa. Kenya Airways, for years a loyal partner of KLM, connects Schiphol Airport with Nairobi. South African Airlines cooperates with Lufthansa and flies to South Africa from Frankfurt and Munich, among other places. In addition, the small but well-regarded RwandAir flies from Brussels.
Those looking to fly within Africa will also soon end up with one of the continent's reputable network airlines. Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways offer the most options for flying within Africa. In addition, West African ASKY, in which Ethiopian Airlines participates, is on the rise. Many smaller African countries have their own national airlines, but they generally do not excel in terms of extensive route networks or punctuality. Large low-cost carriers are lacking: an African equivalent of Ryanair or Easyjet does not exist (yet).
Another important thing to note: there are quite a few African airlines on the European blacklist of unsafe airlines.
These are mainly smaller airline companies from Angola, both Congos, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Liberia, Nigeria (Med-View Airline), Sao, Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Zimbabwe (Air Zimbabwe).
Flying within Africa
Douala, Cameroon
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and also has the largest airline. Camair offers flights to destinations in a handful of neighboring countries: Chad, Gabon, Benin and Ivory Coast. Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways fly from Douala to their respective hubs. From Europe, Brussels Airlines and Air France fly to Douala, while also Turkish Airlines has included the city in its schedule. Air Cote d'Ivoire offers flights to Abidjan, Bangui and Ndjamena. The Nigerian Arik Air flies to Lagos, among other places. ASKY connects Douala to Bangui, Libreville and Lome.
Luanda, Angola
Luanda Quatro the Fevereiro International Airport is served directly by KLM and Brussels Airlines, among others, while from Europe, Air France, Lufthansa and Tap also fly there. Also Ethiopian, Kenya Airways and South African offer flights to the Angolan capital. Direct flights to numerous domestic and international destinations are operated by TAAG Angola Airlines. That is the only Angolan airline whose fleet is not blacklisted.
Nairobi, Kenya
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is home to Kenya Airways and is a major hub in East Africa. Within Africa, from Nairobi, the SkyTeam-member flown to some forty destinations. These include secondary destinations such as Juba (South Sudan), Bujumbura (Burundi), Lilongwe (Malawi), Livingstone (Zambia) and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe). Numerous major foreign airlines, including, of course, KLM, have included Nairobi in their schedules. Given its location, Nairobi is an ideal base from which to explore the rest of Africa.
Johannesburg, South Africa
OR Tambo Airport is South Africa's largest airport and home to South African Airways. That airline also offers the largest destination network from Johannesburg, focusing on major cities in Africa. Other routes to destinations in surrounding countries are served by South African carriers Airlink and SA Express. Domestic flights are also offered by British Airways (Comair), FlySafair and the prizefighters Kulula and Mango. Several major European airlines and golf carries fly to 'Joburg'.
Lusaka, Zambia
In the absence of its own national airline, travelers on Kenneth Kaunda International Airport largely relied on foreign airlines. Price fighter Fasjet flies, for example, to Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Harare (Zimbabwe). Intra-African flights are further offered by Kenya Airways (Nairobi) and others, Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa), SAA (Johannesburg), RwandAir (Kigali) and TAAG (Luanda). Further flying Emirates (Dubai) and Turkish Airlines (Istanbul) intercontinental to Lusaka.
Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town International Airport, unlike Johannesburg, is not an international hub airport, but is easily accessible from Europe. KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, Joon (Air France) and Turkish Airlines are among the airlines who fly into Cape Town. For domestic and regional flights, you mainly rely on Airlink, British Airways (Comair), FlySafair, SA Express, Kulula and Mango. Flights to other African countries are offered by, among others RwandAir (Kigali), Ethiopian (Addis Ababa) and Kenya Airways (Nairobi).
Kampala, Uganda
Kampala, the capital of Uganda, has its own airport. Those who want to get to the city rely on Entebbe International Airport, 40 kilometers southwest of Kampala. Notable: KLM and Brussels Airlines are the only Western European airlines with flights to Entebbe. Also Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines fly to this small airport. Major regional destinations include Nairobi (Kenya Airways, Jambo Jet) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopian). Furthermore, Air Tanzania flies from Entebbe to Dar es Salaam and Kilimanjaro, RwandAir to Kigali and SAA to Johannesburg.
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This article previously appeared in UNIGLOBE Traveletc. #1 2019 and was updated May 14, 2024 with new information.