08 January 2013

Africa’s aviation market hots up in 2013

Africa is gearing up to be an important region for private aviation in 2013. We are seeing an increase in demand for flights in the region and African destinations are getting hotter on our online flight search.

With the European market still relatively slow, an increasing number of aircraft owners are moving their aircraft to Africa, where a number of economies are on the up.

Demand is growing, not just in the obviously more established markets of South Africa and Egypt, but also in Nigeria and Kenya.

Africa’s geography and current infrastructure make it ripe for aviation investment.

There are enormous distances between major cities, and the road and rail services are generally poor. It will be interesting to watch the parallel growth in the airline market – following the launch of Stelios-backed Fastjet at the end of 2012.

Fastjet’s is taking EasyJet’s low-cost airline model and will be the first pan-African low cost airline, if its expansion goes to plan. Initially it will focus on Tanzania, with Kenyan and Ugandan destinations added early in 2013.

The lack of historic investment plus bureaucracy and red tape will make Africa a challenging market to crack – for all sectors of aviation. For the airline sector in particular, there is lot of work to do. African airports, for example, may not initially be up to the task of turning around the fixed scheduling and tight turnarounds required to make a low-cost airline commercially viable.

For private aviation it is also often more complex to arrange flights in Africa, but we have relationships with many reliable and well-established operators in the region – as well as those who have moved from Europe. With lessons learnt from other emerging markets, Africa is certainly one to watch in 2013.

Top 10 Private Jet Airports in Africa

These are Africa’s most popular airports for private aviation flights:

  • O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg
  • Cape Town International Airport, Cape Town, South Africa
  • King Shaka International Airport, Durban, South Africa
  • Cairo International Airport, Cairo, Egypt
  • Hurghada International Airport, Hurghada, Egypt
  • Sharm El-Sheikh International Airport, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt
  • Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca, Morocco
  • Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Nigeria
  • Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, Kenya
  • Port Elizabeth International Airport, Port Elizabeth, South Africa

For more information or advice on arranging private charter flights in Africa, contact our expert team (24 hours) on +44 (0)1747 642 777 or email enquiries@privatefly.com

Sustainability

PrivateFly is committed to a long term sustainability program, dedicated to going far beyond just carbon offsetting.

Read More
Our Group

PrivateFly is a sister company to Flexjet, which provides shared ownership and programmes for experienced private aviation users who fly 50+ hours per year

Visit The Website
Speak to our flight team 24/7
Connect With Us
Our Websites
Back to top