Cirium, an aviation analytics company, has listed Cairo, Johannesburg, Addis Ababa, Casablanca a the top five most popular Africa-bound routes from the United States of America.
According to a report by simpleflying.com, this month, 488 flights and 130,606 seats are on offer from the United States to Africa. With eight airlines flying between the two regions, there are 23 non-stop and four one-stop US-Africa routes.
It says data from Cirium, shows 12 African airports have flights from the United States this month: Abidjan (ABJ), Accra (ACC), Addis Ababa (ADD), Cairo (CAI), Casablanca (CMN), Cape Town (CPT), Dakar (DSS), Johannesburg (JNB), Lomé (LFW), Lagos (LOS), Nairobi (NBO), and Praia (RAI). They are connected to some of the world’s busiest airports, including Atlanta (ATL) and New York (JFK).
1 New York JFK-Cairo
This month, the most popular US-Africa route is from New York John F Kennedy Airport (JFK) to Cairo International Airport (CAI), with 30 scheduled flights and 9,640 seats. The 4,878 NM (9,034 km) route is operated by Egyptair, the only carrier with non-stop flights between the two airports. The airline operates daily flights with the Boeing 777-300ER.
Cairo is one of Africa’s busiest airports and is the main gateway in the northern part of the continent. Last year, it received 26 million passengers, a 30% increase from the 20 million handled in 2022. In total, there are 52 scheduled flights and 16,438 seats from the US to Egypt this month.
Egyptair operates two more routes from the United States, connecting Cairo to Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) and Washington Dulles (IAD). The carrier currently operates three weekly flights from IAD and two weekly from EWR with its Boeing 787-9 aircraft. IAD-CAI is the longest route between the two countries at 5,076 NM (9,401 km).
2 Atlanta-Johannesburg
This month’s second most popular Africa-bound route, with 31 flights and 9,486 seats, is from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL) to Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport (JNB). This route connects the world’s busiest airport with Africa’s second busiest as of March 2024. At 7,333 NM (13,581 km), ATL-JNB is Africa’s longest non-stop intercontinental route.
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The route is served by Delta Air Lines, operating daily flights with the Airbus A350-900. In total, there are 89 scheduled flights and 25,067 seats from the US to South Africa this month. Delta has 44 flights and 13,464 seats, serving Johannesburg and Cape Town from Atlanta. ATL-CPT sees up to three weekly flights with the A350-900.
Meanwhile, United Airlines has 45 scheduled flights and 11,603 seats. It serves Cape Town from Newark and Washington, as well as Johannesburg from Newark with its Boeing 777s and 787s. This month, there are over 42 airlines with non-stop flights to and from Johannesburg, making it one of Africa’s most popular destinations for international flights.
3 Washington-Addis Ababa
While there aren’t as many international carriers serving Addis Ababa as Cairo or Johannesburg, the airport is well-connected, thanks to Ethiopian Airlines’ extensive international network. This month, 31 non-stop flights and 9,486 seats are scheduled from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), making it the third most popular route from the US.
Ethiopian Airlines operates daily flights with its 787-8s and -9s. At 6,250 NM (11,576 km), IAD-ADD is the ninth-longest non-stop route to Africa. ET also has 13 scheduled flights and 3,510 seats on its route from Washington to Addis Ababa, operated via Lomé, Togo. This route sees up to three weekly flights, operated with the Dreamliner. This service was launched in 2022, highlighting the importance of the US market.
The carrier’s outbound flights from Addis to North American destinations like Washington, Atlanta, Toronto, and Chicago are not non-stop. They are operated with a technical stop in Rome, which replaced Dublin last October. This month, there are a total of 112 flights, with 31,180 seats on offer from the US to Ethiopia. The national carrier flies from five US airports and remains the only carrier with non-stop flights between the two countries.
4 New York JFK-Casablanca
New York JFK-Casablanca is the second most popular route from the United States to North Africa, with 26 scheduled flights and 7,684 seats this month. The route is served by Royal Air Maroc, operating an average of six weekly flights with its 787-9s. At 3,136 NM (5,808 km), JFK-CMN is the fifth-longest non-stop route to Morocco and the third-longest from the US.
Royal Air Maroc has 48 scheduled flights and 13,768 seats from the US to Morocco this month. In addition to its JFK-CMN service, it offers two weekly Boeing 787-8 flights from both Miami and Washington Dulles. The Moroccan national carrier currently serves about 71 international destinations, including four in North America.
Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (CMN) is the country’s busiest airport, handling over 30% of flights to Morocco. Last year, the airport welcomed 9.8 million passengers. Despite witnessing 28% growth from the previous year, it has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. After reaching 95% of 2019 figures, the Moroccan Airports Authority (ONDA) expects full recovery in 2024.
5 Chicago-Addis Ababa
In March 2024, there are 26 flights and 7,020 seats from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) to Addis Ababa. The route, which is the fifth-most popular between Africa and the US, is served by Ethiopian Airlines six times a week with the 787-8. At 6,584 NM (12,193 km), ORD-ADD is Africa’s seventh-longest non-stop intercontinental route. It is also ET’s second-longest after ATL-ADD, at 6,692 NM (12,393 km).
Ethiopian Airlines’ ORD-ADD service runs from Monday to Saturday. Flight ET575 departs Chicago at 09:45 and arrives in Addis at 08:30 local time. The carrier launched passenger flights to Chicago in 2018 as its fourth destination in the US. With Canada included, it currently serves six destinations in North America and plans to add two new destinations per year.
In 2023, ET added Atlanta as its fifth destination in the US. It has 13 scheduled and 3,510 seats for March 2024, operating an average of three weekly flights with the 787-8. In total, the carrier’s international network covers over 117 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.
