The extent of the challenge facing African airlines can be grasped simply by finding a flight tracking website, and zooming-out to see a global view of aircraft movements in real-time. Much of Europe, North America and some parts of Asia are obscured by dense clouds of slowly-moving aircraft icons. But the map of Africa is punctuated by just a few lonely planes making their way across the continent.
Africa's share of the global air travel market stands at only around 2% - a level that has remained largely static over the past 20 years. While the potential of Africa as the "last frontier" of global aviation has often generated excitement in airline boardrooms, many African carriers have struggled with financial chaos, political interference and haphazard management over the course of many decades.
Recently, however, there have been unmistakable clues that things may be looking up for some of Africa's leading airlines.
Ethiopian Airlines, by far the largest carrier on the continent, has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Its CEO, Mesfin Bekele, said in May that the carrier is on course to achieve a 30% rise in passenger numbers and a 20% increase in revenues in the year ending 30 June. And Ethiopian shows few signs of slowing down, with a plan to double its fleet size and route network by 2035.
Meanwhile, one of Ethiopian's traditional rivals, Kenya Airways, appears finally to be emerging from a lengthy period of financial difficulties. It recorded an operating profit for the first time in seven years in 2023 - although it remains loss-making once taxes and debt service payments are deducted.
