Chic African Culture Africa Factbook

Air Afrique Flying in African Skies

About Air Afrique and internal and international flights to and from Africa.



Unity and solidarity among African States for development on the continent.


In 1961, Air Afrique was a joint venture between the Brazzaville Group Francophone African countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Mauritania, Niger, the Republic of the Congo and Senegal, Air France and Union Aéromaritime de Transport.

Headquartered in Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d'Ivoire and one of the most populous French-speaking cities in Africa, the goal was to promote unity and solidarity among African States for development on the continent through air travel.

Air Afrique started operations on August 1, 1961 and eventually carrying out flights to twenty-two African countries, as well as flights to France, Rome, Switzerland and New York.


"One has to set high standards… I can never be happy with a mediocre performance." – Patrice Motsepe

Cameroonian born Princess Léopoldine Doualla-Bell Smith in 1957 became the world's first black flight attendant.  She first worked with Union Aéromaritime de Transport and then became Air Afrique first employee.  The Airline boosted over 5,000 employees during its peak business performing years in the late 1970s to mid-1980s.

Air Afrique filed for bankruptcy on February 7, 2002 after years of infighting between the presidents of Cameroon and Chad, as well as poor attention to passenger needs of timely departure and arrival times, mismanagement and heavy debts of nearly ½ billion US dollars. Despite popular belief about poor safety, Air Afrique experienced one fatal in air accident when a flight crashed into Mount Cameroon causing 55 fatalities.


Air Afrique started operations on August 1, 1961.

Fostering economic ties between African countries through air transportation.

The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) was created due to the Abuja Treaty also known as the African Economic Community Treaty signed in Abuja, Nigeria and entered into force on May 12, 1994. The Abuja Treaty contained an outline for full continental economic integration that was to be achieved over a period of 34 years from 1994 to 2028.

The Abuja Treaty is perhaps the most important agreement as regards economic, social and political partnership in Africa as it lays out the future of the continent with the establishment of an African Economic Community. The importance of the Abuja Treaty is in fact the economic regeneration to replace colonial economies.


“You stay divided; you stay backwards Africa” – Dr. Mo Ibrahim

Africa is a magnet for tourists and the airlines are a vital component to the success of Africa. SAATM is a prized project of the African Union Agenda 2063, an initiative of the African Union to create a single unified air transport market in Africa as the continent’s economic liberation in connecting Africa, promoting its social, economic and political integration and boosting intra-Africa trade and tourism as a result.


Ethiopian Airlines.

After Air Afrique, Air travel in Africa today in part thanks to the Abuja Treaty.

South African Airways is sub-Saharan Africa's largest airlines, along with Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways.

Africa's popular airlines.

South African Airways

Kenya Airways

Afriqiyah Airways

Ethiopian Airlines

ASKY

Air Namibia

Air Mauritius


Major Airports in Africa today for internal and international flights.

Africa’s busiest airport is O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, here are some other major airports in Africa.

R. Tambo International Airport Johannesburg South Africa.

Julius Nyerere International Airport Dar es Salaam Tanzania.

Cairo International Airport Cairo Egypt.

Hosea Kutako International Airport Windhoek Namibia.

Cape Town International Airport Cape Town South Africa.

Maputo International Airport Maputo Mozambique.

Kotoka International Airport Accra Ghana.

Mohammed V International Airport Casablanca Morocco.

Bole International Airport Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos Nigeria.

Houari Boumediene Airport Algiers Algeria.

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Nairobi Kenya.

Tunis-Carthage Airport Tunis Tunisia.

Kotoka International Airport  Accra Ghana.

African Country Total Airports Paved Runways Unpaved Runways
Algeria 149 67 82
Angola 102 32 70
Benin 6 1 5
Botswana 74 10 64
Burkina Faso 23 2 21
Burundi 7 1 6
Cabo Verde 9 9 0
Cameroon 33 11 22
Central African Republic 39 1 38
Chad 59 9 50
Democratic Republic of the Congo 198 26 172
Republic of the Congo 27 8 19
Cote d'Ivoire 27 7 20
Djibouti 13 3 10
Egypt 83 72 11
Equatorial Guinea 7 6 1
Eritrea 13 4 9
Eswatini 14 2 12
Ethiopia 57 17 40
Gabon 44 14 30
The Gambia 1 1 0
Ghana 10 7 3
Guinea 16 4 12
Guinea-Bissau 8 2 6
Kenya 197 16 181
Lesotho 24 3 21
Liberia 29 2 27
Libya 146 68 78
Madagascar 83 26 57
Malawi 32 7 25
Mali 25 8 17
Mauritania 30 9 21
Mauritius 5 2 3
Morocco 55 31 24
Mozambique 98 21 77
Namibia 112 19 93
Niger 30 10 20
Nigeria 54 40 14
Rwanda 7 4 3
Sao Tome and Principe 2 2 0
Senegal 20 9 11
Seychelles 14 7 7
Sierra Leone 8 1 7
Somalia 52 8 44
South Africa 407 130 277
South Sudan 89 4 85
Sudan 67 17 50
Tanzania 166 10 156
Togo 8 2 6
Tunisia 29 15 14
Uganda 47 5 42
Zambia 88 8 80
Zimbabwe 196 17 179


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