14 Skytrax ranked EgyptAir 110th in the world in 2023. Enterprise AM Egypt reports on 18 September 2026 that Skytrax has named the same carrier the World’s Most Improved Airline. The leap matters beyond Cairo: it shows how fast the best airlines in Africa can change and how quickly service quality moves passengers between hubs. The Best Airlines in Africa: Skytrax’s 2026 Top Ten ATC News reports that Skytrax revealed its 2026 World Airline Awards at The Langham in London. Ethiopian Airlines won Best Airline in Africa. EgyptAir placed second, Air Mauritius third, Royal Air Maroc fourth and RwandAir fifth. South African Airways took sixth and Kenya Airways seventh, while the low-cost carriers FlySafair, Fastjet and LIFT closed the list at eighth, ninth and tenth, according to reports from Travel Trade Journal. EgyptAir did the heavy lifting. It climbed 22 places to 46th globally, its first finish inside the world’s top 50, and won three African titles: Best Cabin Crew, Best Economy Class and Most Improved Airline. Its fleet renewal covers 34 aircraft, 16 Airbus A350-900s and 18 Boeing 737-8s, and the first A350-900 arrived in February 2026, a first for a North African carrier. Others moved too. Ethiopian Airlines, 38th globally in 2025, still sets the continental benchmark. Royal Air Maroc rose from 70th to 58th globally, RwandAir won Best Airline Staff Service in Africa, and FlySafair took Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa. Demand is racing ahead of profit. IATA’s June 2026 outlook forecasts 10% growth in African passenger demand for 2026, yet it expects African airlines to earn only $100 million in net profit, down from $300 million in 2025, as reported by the African Pilot. Profit per passenger falls to $0.40 from $2.10. In December 2025, IATA had forecast $200 million. Structure explains the thin margin: IATA found that African airlines carry the highest unit costs in the world, nearly double the industry average. War-related disruption in the Middle East and a jet fuel price rise of roughly 70% drive the squeeze, said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. IATA expects larger hub carriers with links to Europe and Asia to gain most from rerouted traffic, while smaller and fragmented operators stay more exposed. That split shapes the Skytrax table. Ethiopian, EgyptAir and Royal Air Maroc run hubs at Addis Ababa, Cairo and Casablanca, on the Africa–Europe and Africa–Asia corridors IATA expects to reward. EgyptAir’s 34-aircraft renewal shows what a hub carrier does when it spends ahead of profit. The long view supports the bet: IATA forecasts that Africa’s market will grow 4.1% a year over the next 20 years, reaching 411 million passengers, the world’s third-fastest rate. What the Best Airlines in Africa Mean for Tourism Strategy For tourism boards, the table works as a shopping list. Cairo, Addis Ababa, Casablanca, Kigali and Mauritius now carry Skytrax credentials they can put in front of tour operators. Policy matters as much as fleets: only five countries, Benin, The Gambia, Rwanda, Seychelles and Ghana, offer visa-free entry to all African nationals, according to IATA in 2025. West African destinations face a sharper question, because none of their home carriers appear in the top ten. Travellers should read the ranking as a routing guide, not a safety audit. Skytrax builds its awards from passenger surveys, so a high rank tells you about the seat and the crew, not whether an airline can absorb a fuel shock. Check schedule changes before you book, especially on thin regional routes. ALSO READ: Turkish Airlines Route Cuts: Five African Capitals Erased From the 2027 Flight Map Libya-France Direct Flights Return After a Decade – What It Means for Africa’s Aviation Comeback ASKY Airlines Adds Eight Boeing 737 MAX 8s to Its Growing Fleet as Lomé Eyes 787 Long-Haul Entry Nigerian Airlines Miss Africa’s Skytrax Top Ten as Jet Fuel Pushes Fares Past ₦200,000 No Nigerian carrier appears in Skytrax’s 2026 African top ten, and cost explains part of the gap. Jet A1 prices in Nigeria jumped from about ₦900 per litre to more than ₦2,500 in early 2026, and the Aviation Operators of Nigeria threatened to suspend flights. Airlines answered by raising fares and cutting flights. Air Peace, United Nigeria Airlines and Ibom Air lifted base fares above ₦200,000, and Lagos–Abuja tickets reached ₦201,900 on Air Peace against ₦125,289 on Arik Air. Air Peace also cut Abuja–London from daily to three weekly flights until 1 July 2026. President Bola Tinubu approved a 30% reduction in airlines’ outstanding statutory charges in April. Relief is arriving. The Dangote Refinery cut Jet A1 to ₦1,650 per litre in May, and IATA reports that the refinery became the world’s largest jet fuel exporter in April 2026. Election-season demand keeps seats tight, so fares may fall slowly. The pattern is clear: strong demand, thin margins and fragile schedules. IATA singles out Nigerian airlines for limited fuel hedging and foreign-exchange pressure. THE RCA POSITION Skytrax 2026 Redraws Africa’s Tourism Map: Airlines Now Choose the Winning Destinations Hub carriers now act as gatekeepers for African tourism. Destinations linked to a strong hub carrier absorb growth first, and IATA’s 20-year forecast of 411 million African passengers shows how much growth is coming. The risk is a two-speed continent. Addis Ababa, Cairo and Casablanca gain visitors and transit spend, while destinations that depend on thin regional routes absorb fuel-driven fare rises first. IATA expects smaller, fragmented operators to stay more exposed. For Nigeria, the effect lands twice. Domestic fares above ₦200,000 price out the local weekend traveller, and the absence of a home carrier in the top ten leaves much of the work of selling Nigeria abroad to airlines based elsewhere. We argue that Nigerian tourism will stall until fares and schedule reliability improve, because a destination visitors cannot reach affordably cannot compete for them. Across Africa, the lesson is practical. Governments that pair an open visa policy with reliable, well-rated airlines win the visitor. Rwanda, which offers visa-free entry to all Africans and whose national carrier won Skytrax’s staff-service award, shows the model. We argue that service, not fleet size, now decides which African hubs capture the continent’s demand, because travellers choose the airline before the destination, and every carrier that wins their votes pulls traffic through its home airport. Do not stop at the rankings. Explore more African aviation and tourism intelligence on Rex Clarke Adventures, and follow the routes, policies and airlines that decide where Africa travels next. FAQs Which is the best airline in Africa in 2026? Ethiopian Airlines. Skytrax named it Best Airline in Africa at its 2026 World Airline Awards, held in London on 18 September 2026. Why did EgyptAir win World’s Most Improved Airline? EgyptAir climbed 22 places to 46th in Skytrax’s global top 100, its first finish inside the top 50. It is renewing its fleet with 34 aircraft and won African awards for cabin crew, economy class and improvement. Which African airlines make Skytrax’s top ten for 2026? Ethiopian Airlines, EgyptAir, Air Mauritius, Royal Air Maroc, RwandAir, South African Airways, Kenya Airways, FlySafair, Fastjet and LIFT, in that order. Are African airlines profitable in 2026? Barely. IATA’s June 2026 outlook forecasts $100 million in net profit for African airlines, a 0.2% margin and $0.40 per passenger, even as demand grows 10%. Why are Nigerian domestic flights so expensive in 2026? Jet A1 prices surged from about ₦900 to more than ₦2,500 per litre early in the year, and major airlines lifted base fares above ₦200,000. Dangote Refinery’s cut to ₦1,650 per litre and a 30% relief on statutory charges may ease pressure. African airline rankingsbest African airlinesEgyptAirEthiopian Airlines 0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinTelegramEmail Oluwafemi Kehinde Oluwafemi Kehinde is a business and technology correspondent and an integrated marketing communications enthusiast with close to a decade of experience in content and copywriting. He currently works as an SEO specialist and a content writer at Rex Clarke Adventures. Throughout his career, he has dabbled in various spheres, including stock market reportage and SaaS writing. He also works as a social media manager for several companies. He holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication and majored in public relations.