- African airfreight growth is constrained by high costs, ageing aircraft, limited cargo infrastructure and indirect routes, with outdated bilateral agreements and slow implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market restricting intra-African connectivity.
- Competing strategies are emerging, with Aglow Air targeting short-haul West African routes using ATR freighters, while Kenya Airways Cargo and TAAG develop Nairobi and Luanda as regional hubs; Ethiopian Airlines remains the dominant player.
- Rising China–Africa trade, e-commerce and demand for perishables, pharmaceuticals and industrial cargo offer significant growth potential, but sustainable expansion depends on regulatory reform, direct routes, improved handling facilities and reliable cold-chain infrastructure.
While intra-African trade struggles to take off, air freight is emerging as a strategic lever. Yet, the continent’s skies remain largely underutilised, hampered by outdated infrastructure, regulations inherited from the colonial era, and prohibitive costs.
Faced with this reality, several players are trying to develop competing solutions. On one side, Aglow Air is betting on ATR cargo aircraft to connect short-haul West African routes. On the other, Kenya Airways Cargo and TAAG are focusing on regional hubs in Nairobi and Luanda to capture long-haul traffic, with the ambition of competing with the Gulf hubs. Air Algérie/Tassili, currently consolidating, represents another state-owned model. Different strategies, but one shared challenge: making African air freight viable, profitable, and self-sustaining.
Connectivity remains incomplete
The potential is immense, but it runs up against a persistent reality: goods shipped from one African country to another take an average of three to five days in transit, with mandatory stopovers in Europe or the Middle East. “Rates are extremely high, unaffordable for many exporters,” explains Cathy Kayitesi, Sales Director at Africa Global Logistics. “Many turn to sea freight and only use air freight as a last resort, for perishable, special, or high-value products.”
Adding to this economic obstacle is a fleet problem: many of the aircraft used on the continent are over thirty years old, with frequent breakdowns leading to delays and uncertainty.
“Connections remain a major challenge,” adds Ms. Kayitesi. “In the absence of direct flights, goods must transit through external hubs before reaching their final destination.”
Read more: Sub-Saharan Africa Powers Global Trade Growth
Two competing models
To address this situation, two strategies are emerging. On the one hand, Aglow Air is relying on ATR cargo aircraft to cover short-haul routes in West Africa, taking a niche approach. On the other hand, Kenya Airways Cargo and TAAG are developing their regional hubs in Nairobi and Luanda to capture long-haul traffic, with the ambition of competing with the Gulf hubs.
Aviation expert Samba Thiam observes that “the most underserved routes are between West Africa and Southern and Central Africa: Abidjan-Luanda, Accra-Lusaka, Dakar-Nairobi.” According to him, TAAG is rapidly filling this gap thanks to its North-South corridor and new routes to Lusaka, Abidjan, and Accra. Kenya Airways Cargo, for its part, remains a key player for East-West and Horn of Africa connections, even though its Nairobi hub is sometimes bypassed by traffic from Europe or the Gulf.
The weight of political legacies
But beyond strategic choices, regulation is hindering the growth of air freight. The current African air network is the product of bilateral agreements inherited from the colonial era, designed to connect capital cities to European metropolises, not African cities to each other. Despite the existence of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), signed by 38 states, its implementation remains hesitant.
“Governments continue to block traffic rights, particularly fifth freedom rights, to protect their often underperforming national airlines,” Thiam lamented.
As a result, fragmentation prevents the creation of direct links and forces freight to transit through external hubs, increasing costs and delays. This is compounded by inadequate airport infrastructure, as more than half of African airports lack suitable cargo facilities, warehouses, or cold chain infrastructure, which severely penalises perishable goods.
Read more: DHL invests in Middle East-Africa connectivity with new aviation lane
Hubs in operation
Despite these obstacles, hubs are emerging. Ethiopian Airlines dominates the market with a 35 percent share, far ahead of Kenya Airways and Royal Air Maroc (25 percent combined). Its cargo capacity has increased from 266,000 tonnes in 2016 to 715,000 tonnes in 2023, with 16 cargo aircraft and a target of 37 by 2035. Kenya Airways Cargo, for its part, boasts an annual capacity of 380,000 tonnes and is strengthening its Nairobi hub.
The Abidjan hub is also cited as a serious contender to become a major gateway to West Africa, with the potential for 25 to 35 new routes and an estimated 25 to 30 percent reduction in fares thanks to increased competition. As for Luanda, its geographic location, at the crossroads of Southern Africa, South America, and Europe, makes it a rising star.
Demand driven by e-commerce and sensitive goods
Justin Nbeye, an international trade expert, points out that “trade between China and Africa reached a record US$348 billion in 2025.” With the extension of zero-tariff treatment to all African countries, agricultural exports (coffee, flowers, fresh fruit) are boosted, while e-commerce driven by platforms like Temu and SHEIN is experiencing growth of over 20 percent per year, creating sustained demand for air freight.
At the same time, pharmaceuticals, industrial freight, and mining remain promising segments, but demanding in terms of cold chain and reliability.
