Ethiopian Airlines has retained its position as Africa’s highest-ranked carrier in the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards, extending its run at the top to nine consecutive years, while EgyptAir recorded one of the strongest improvements among the continent’s leading airlines.
The latest rankings place Ethiopian Airlines first in Africa, followed by EgyptAir, Air Mauritius, Royal Air Maroc and RwandAir, reflecting a reshuffling among some of the continent’s most prominent carriers.
Ethiopian’s latest recognition extends its run as Best Airline in Africa to nine consecutive years. The Addis Ababa-based carrier also secured Best Business Class in Africa and Best Economy Class Onboard Catering in Africa.
The airline also moved higher in Skytrax’s global ranking, rising from 38th in 2025 to 36th worldwide in 2026. While Ethiopian remains the clear leader among African carriers, its global position illustrates the continuing gap between Africa’s strongest airlines and the highest-rated carriers internationally.
EgyptAir makes biggest move
The most significant change near the top of the African rankings came from EgyptAir, which climbed from fifth position in 2025 to second in 2026.
The Egyptian flag carrier was also named World’s Most Improved Airline for 2026, ahead of Air India and Royal Jordanian. It additionally secured the awards for Most Improved Airline in Africa, Best Economy Class in Africa and Best Cabin Crew in Africa.
Its three-position rise displaced Air Mauritius, which moved from second to third.
Royal Air Maroc also recorded a notable improvement, climbing two positions from sixth to fourth. The Moroccan carrier was additionally named Best Regional Airline in Africa, strengthening its position among the continent’s leading network airlines.
RwandAir completes the top five, although the Rwandan carrier slipped from third position last year to fifth. Despite the decline in its overall ranking, RwandAir took one of the most significant service awards, being named Best Airline Staff in Africa.
Southern African airlines maintain strong presence
South African Airways ranked sixth, falling two positions from fourth in 2025, while Kenya Airways remained unchanged in seventh.
FlySafair retained eighth position and remains the highest-placed low-cost carrier in the continental top ten.
Fastjet moved from tenth to ninth, while South African carrier LIFT slipped one position to tenth.
The full 2026 African ranking is:
- Ethiopian Airlines — unchanged
- EgyptAir — up from 5th
- Air Mauritius — down from 2nd
- Royal Air Maroc — up from 6th
- RwandAir — down from 3rd
- South African Airways — down from 4th
- Kenya Airways — unchanged
- FlySafair — unchanged
- Fastjet — up from 10th
- LIFT — down from 9th
A changing competitive picture
While Ethiopian Airlines’ continued dominance is unsurprising, the movement immediately behind it provides a more interesting picture of changing competition among Africa’s established carriers.
EgyptAir and Royal Air Maroc were the biggest gainers among the leading airlines, while Air Mauritius, RwandAir and South African Airways all lost positions. The continued presence of FlySafair, Fastjet and LIFT also means the ranking is no longer dominated entirely by traditional full-service flag carriers.
Skytrax’s World Airline Awards are based on passenger satisfaction research covering airline products and services, meaning the rankings primarily measure the customer experience rather than financial performance, network size, operational reliability or profitability.
That distinction is important. Africa’s largest or most commercially successful airlines are not necessarily its highest-rated by passengers, and the rankings provide only one lens through which airline performance can be assessed.
Still, the 2026 results reinforce Ethiopian Airlines’ unusual position in African aviation. Beyond operating the continent’s largest international network and one of its biggest fleets, it has now maintained Skytrax’s top African passenger ranking for nine consecutive years.
The more notable development this year may therefore be the competition taking shape behind it particularly EgyptAir’s rapid ascent and Royal Air Maroc’s improvement as Africa’s major network carriers increasingly compete not only on connectivity and scale, but on the quality of the passenger experience.
