The highly anticipated 2021 World Airline Awards, dubbed the “Oscars of airlines,” were announced on Tuesday by Skytrax, based in the United Kingdom.

Customer feedback was gathered over a 23-month period, from September 2019 to July 2021, and covered both ordinary and pandemic travel.

While the epidemic caused several airline rankings to shift in comparison to the previous year, a few significant airlines stayed at the top.

Over 13 million travellers from all over the world took part in the Passenger’s Choice Awards, where they nominated their favourite airline and rated specific aspects of the customer experience on a scale of one to five, such as cabin service, COVID-19 response, ground/airport services, and onboard products. Nearly 350 airlines were represented in the poll’s results.

The top three African carriers were Ethiopian Airlines, South African Airways, and Kenya Airways. Qatar Airways won the gold medal for the sixth time since 2001, followed by Singapore Airlines in second and ANA All Nippon Airways of Japan in third.

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The five additional awards Qatar received were for Best Business Class, Best Business Class Seat, Best Airline in the Middle East, World’s Best Business Class Airline Lounge, and Best Business Class Onboard Catering.

Saudi Arabian Airlines was named Most Improved Airline, while Scoot, a Singapore Airlines subsidiary, was named Best Long-Haul Low-Cost Airline, and Vueling, based in Spain, was named Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe.

Which African Countries Have Airlines

Here’s a look at the top ten African airlines for the year 2021.

Fastjet

Fastjet Plc is a British/South African holding company that manages a series of African low-cost carriers.

The company’s declared goal is to become Africa’s first low-cost, pan-African airline, and the business began with the acquisition of Fly540, an East African airline; flights in Fastjet’s own name began in Tanzania in November 2012.

Fastjet Zimbabwe and Fastjet Mozambique started flying in October 2015 and November 2017, respectively.

Domestic operations in South Africa have also been announced. The airline flies four Embraer E145 aircraft across East and Southern Africa as of February 2018. It has carried more than 2.5 million people and has an on-time performance of 90%.

Egyptair 

EgyptAir, the Arab Republic of Egypt’s national airline, is based at Cairo International Airport. Domestic and regional scheduled passenger and freight services within Egypt and Africa, as well as international routes to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North America, are all part of the airline’s network.

Full list of all airlines in Africa Countries

EgyptAir, one of the largest airlines on the African continent, joined the Star Alliance in July 2008. EgyptAir Cargo is EgyptAir’s cargo branch, which serves Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

FlySafair 

FlySafair is a South African low-cost airline based in Johannesburg. The airline specializes in internal flights inside South Africa, with flights to more than five different destinations.

Although the airline only started flying in October 2014, the company behind it has been around for 50 years.

The airline’s hubs are based at Cape Town International Airport (CPT), OR Tambo International Airport (JNB), and King Shaka International Airport (KSA) (DUR).

Cape Town, Durban, East London, George, Port Elizabeth, and Johannesburg are among the 7 domestic destinations served by FlySafair. It flies to these destinations with a fleet of 16 Boeing planes.

Rwandair 

RwandAir, Rwanda’s national carrier, flies to more than 30 destinations in Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

The airline, which has its hub at Kigali International Airport (KGL), is one of Africa’s fastest-growing and has one of the continent’s youngest and most contemporary fleets.

The airline’s objective is to deliver superior, safe, and dependable air transportation services, including strategically connecting Rwanda to the rest of the world.

6. Seychelles Air

The national airline of Seychelles, Air Seychelles, is headquartered on the island of Mahe. The airline flies to a variety of destinations in Africa and Central/Eastern Asia.

Air Seychelles was founded in 1978 and initially only operated internal flights until 1983 when it began operating international flights to Frankfurt and London.

The airline has expanded and updated its international route network throughout the years and now flies to a number of countries outside of Seychelles.

In 2014, Skytrax awarded Air Seychelles a four-star rating, as well as World Travel Awards for Leading Business Class and Leading Cabin Crew in the Indian Ocean.

Air Mauritius 

Mauritius’ national airline, Air Mauritius, is based in Port Louis at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport.

The flag carrier, Air Mauritius Ltd, began operations in 1972, making it the fourth-largest airline in Sub-Saharan Africa at the company. Passengers can fly direct to 23 destinations and connect with the airline’s partners to reach over 100 more.

Royal Air Maroc 

The Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc, or ‘RAM,’ is the country’s largest. The airline was established in July 1953 when Air Maroc and Air Atlas merged.

The airline’s headquarters are headquartered near the Moroccan city of Casablanca at Casablanca-Anfa Airport, while its primary hub airport in Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport.

RAM flies to nearly 100 destinations globally, including countries in Europe, Africa, the Americas, and the Middle East, on both medium-haul and long-haul flights.

Kenya Airways 

Kenya Airways is one of Africa’s largest airlines, with flights to popular destinations all over the world. Since its inception, the airline has developed immensely and continues to thrive across the African sky.

With a team of cheerful and helpful employees, it’s no surprise that Kenya Airways earned the World Travel Award for Africa’s Leading Airline in 2016 and 2017.

The airline, also known as ‘Africa’s Pride,’ has made a significant contribution to elevating the standards of African aviation through its sustained service excellence.

South African Airways 

South African Airways (SAA) is the country’s flag carrier and one of the continent’s largest airlines, with hubs in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The airline is fully owned by the South African government and operates a vast network of domestic and international services throughout Africa, as well as to North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. In 2006, SAA became a member of the Star Alliance.

Ethiopian Airlines 

Ethiopian Airlines is the country’s national airline, based in Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines, one of Africa’s top airlines, flies to more than 60 international destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, as well as a large local and international cargo network. Ethiopian Airlines joined the Star Alliance in December 2011.