As Africa positions herself to attract global investment and spur economic growth, the continent has made major strides in the development and upgrades of her international airports to meet global standards.
The continent’s busiest airports have been measured by the total number of passenger flights defined as passengers enplaned plus passengers deplaned plus direct-transit passengers, as per the data obtained from the Airports Council International (ACI).
Here are the top 5 largest airports in Africa.
Johannesburg International Airport, South Africa
Johannesburg International (JNB) is the largest airport in South Africa. The airport is so busy that it handles around 281 passenger flights on average per day. You can fly to 84 destinations with 42 airlines in scheduled passenger traffic.
The route with the longest flight time from Johannesburg is to Atlanta and takes about 16hours 50minutes with a Boeing 777.
The route with the most departures is the route to Cape Town with an average of 321 flights from Johannesburg International every week which is 16 percent of all weekly departures. The top international destinations from here are Gaborone and Harare.
South African Airways is the largest airline at the airport by counting the number of departures. The airline has around 868 scheduled take-offs every week, that’s about 4 times as many as the second biggest airline in the airport, British Airways.
Cairo International Airport, Egypt
Cairo International (CIA) is the largest airport in Egypt. The airport handles around 175 passenger flights per day. You can fly to 84 destinations with 40 airlines in scheduled passenger traffic.
The route with the longest flight time from Cairo is to Toronto, Canada and takes about 12h 10min with a Boeing 777-300.
The most frequently departed route is the route to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia with an average of 128 flights from Cairo International every week which is 10 percent of all weekly departures.
EgyptAir is the largest airline here by counting the number of departures. With around 690 scheduled take-offs every week, that’s about 6 times as the second-largest airline in the airport, Saudia Airlines.
Bole International Airport, Ethiopia
Bole International (ADD) is the largest airport in Ethiopia and is based in Addis Ababa. The airport has the capacity to accommodate approximately 137 passenger flights per day. You can fly to 106 destinations with 17 airlines in scheduled passenger traffic.
The route with the longest flight time from Addis Ababa is to Toronto and takes about 14hours 50minutes with a Boeing 777-200LR.
The route with the most departures is the route to Makale with an average of 59 flights from Bole International every week which is 6 percent of all weekly departures. The top international destinations from here are Nairobi and Dubai.
Ethiopian Airlines is the largest airline here by counting the number of departures. With around 934 scheduled take-offs every week, that’s about 68 times as many as the second-largest airline in the airport, Kenya Airways.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kenya
Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO) is the largest airport in Kenya and is based in Nairobi. The airport currently handles around 126 passenger flights daily. You can fly to 63 destinations with 32 airlines in scheduled passenger traffic.
The route with the longest flight time from Nairobi is to New York and takes about 15hours with a Boeing 787-8.
The route with the most departures is the route to Mombasa with an average of 126 flights from Jomo Kenyatta International every week which is 14 percent of all weekly departures. The top international destinations from here are Entebbe and Dar Es Salaam.
Kenya Airways is the largest airline here by counting the number of departures. With around 462 scheduled take-offs every week, that’s about 3 times as many as the second biggest airline in the country,
Jambojet Limited.
Cape Town International Airport, South Africa
Cape Town International (CPT) is the second-largest airport in South Africa. The airport handles around 117 passenger flights on a daily. You can fly to 38 destinations with 27 airlines in scheduled passenger traffic.
The route with the longest flight time from Cape Town is to Hong Kong and takes about 13hours 50minutes with the Airbus A350-900.
The route with the most departures is the route to Johannesburg with an average of 321 flights from Cape Town International every week which is 39 percent of all weekly departures. The top international destinations from here are Windhoek and Dubai.
South African Airways is the largest airline here by counting the number of departures with around 200 scheduled take-offs every week.
Source: Gh-Aviation.com