In an exclusive interview with ongolo.com back in July 2020, Professor Dr Wolfgang Thome, the Publisher of ATC News (aviation, tourism and conservation news), accurately predicted that international travel would only resume in the second half of 2021.

We can start getting our vaccine passports ready and prepare to hit the skies again. Hallelujah! As part of our ‘Think African campaign’, ongolo.com hopes you consider flying one of the continent’s leading airlines on your next trip.

The World Travel Awards 2020 selected seven finalists in the Africa’s Leading Airline 2020 category: Ethiopian Airlines (winner), EgyptAir, Kenya Airways, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir, South African Airways and Tunisair.

Ethiopian Airlines

When did the airline start operations: 8 April 1946

Airline alliance: Star Alliance¹

Destinations:

• Africa (64): including Abidjan, Accra, Bamako, Cairo, Cape Town, Dakar, Gaborone, Harare, Johannesburg, Juba, Lagos, Luanda, Lusaka, Nairobi, Nosy Be, Ouagadougou, Seychelles, Windhoek and Zanzibar
• Americas (7): including Buenos Aires, Chicago, New York and Toronto
• Europe (17): including Athens, Brussels, Geneva, London, Paris and Rome
• Asia-Pacific (18): including Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore
• Middle East (13): including Beirut, Dubai, Riyadh and Tel Aviv

Website link

EgyptAir

When did the airline start operations: 7 June 1932

Airline alliance: Star Alliance¹

Destinations:

• Africa (18): including Accra, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Johannesburg, Kigali, Khartoum, Lagos, Nairobi and Tunis
• Americas (3): Toronto, New York & Washington
• Europe (19): including Berlin, Geneva, Istanbul, London, Moscow and Paris
• Asia-Pacific (7): including Beijing, Bombay, Tokyo, Hong Kong
• Middle East (16): including Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, Muscat, Riyadh and Tel Aviv

Website link

Kenya Airways

Also won World Travel Awards for the best business and economy class in Africa

When did the airline start operations: 22 January 1977

Airline alliance: SkyTeam Alliance²

Destinations:

• Africa (33): including Accra, Antananarivo, Dakar, Dar es salaam, Harare, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Mahe Island, Mauritius and Zanzibar
• Americas (1): New York
• Europe (3): Amsterdam, London and Paris
• Asia-Pacific (3): Bangkok, Guangzhou and Mumbai
• Middle East (1): Dubai

Website link

Royal Air Maroc

When did the airline start operations: 1957

Airline alliance: Oneworld³

Destinations:

• Africa (29): including Abidjan, Bamako, Dakar, Kinshasa, Lagos, Luanda, Monrovia, Point-Noire, Tunis and Yaounde
• Americas:
• Europe (41): including Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Copenhagen, Geneva, Istanbul, London, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Venice and Zurich.
• Asia-Pacific (1): Beijing
• Middle East (5): including Amman, Doha and Riyadh

Website link

RwandAir

When did the airline start operations: 27 April 2003

Airline alliance: n/a

Destinations:

• Africa (21) including Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Johannesburg, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lusaka and Nairobi
• Americas (0): RwandAir plans to start flying to New York
• Europe (2): Brussels and London
• Asia-Pacific (1): Mumbai. RwandAir plans to start flying to Guangzhou
• Middle East (1): Dubai. RwandAir plans to start flying to Tel Aviv

Website link

South African Airways

When did the airline start operations: 1 February 1934

Airline alliance: Star Alliance¹

Destinations as at January 2020 and before SAA filed for bankruptcy and terminated most international routes:

• Africa (28): including Abidjan, Accra, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Lagos, Mahe and Nairobi
• Americas (7): including Buenos Aires, Houston, New York and Rio de Janeiro
• Europe (13): including Athens, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Paris, Vienna and Zurich
• Asia-Pacific (10): including Bangkok, Colombo, Hong Kong, Sydney and Taipei
• Middle East (2): Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv

Website link

Tunisair

When did the airline start operations: 1 April 1949

Airline alliance: n/a

Destinations:

• Africa (4): including Abidjan, Algiers, Casablanca and Cairo
• Americas (1): Montreal
• Europe (26): including Barcelona, Istanbul, Hamburg, London and Zurich
• Asia (0):
• Middle East (1): Jeddah

Website link

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¹ Star Alliance members: Aegean, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, brussels airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, Swiss Air, TP Air Portugal, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and United

² SkyTeam Alliance members: Aeroflot, Aerlineas Argentinas, AeroMexico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines and Xiamen Airlines.

³ Oneworld members: American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines.