Report No. 49194 africa infrastructure country diagnostic

Intercontinental traffic

Though not as strong as the overall African growth, Sub-Saharan Africa’s intercontinental capacity has managed to grow 43.6 percent from 2001 to 2007, with an annualized growth rate of 6.2 percent between 2001 and 2007. Sub-Saharan intercontinental traffic relies heavily on the three major hubs of Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Addis Ababa, with the U.K.–Johannesburg route the most heavily traveled. Senegal also operates as an important stop in West Africa.⁵ Between 2001 and 2007 the continent saw a significant rise in service provided by the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was in only two of the top 30 country pairs in 2001, yet by 2007 had five of the top routes. In addition, traffic to East Asia and the Pacific regions has nearly doubled between 2004 and 2007 to 1.6 million seats.

Figure 1.6 Top 30 intercontinental routes for Africa as of November 2007, measured using seats available per week

Source: Analysis on data provided by Seabury ADG. Note: The routes are displayed as country pairs, though there often is more than one airport served in a country, with the thickness of the connecting lines being in proportion to volume. The most important routes are the north African countries Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia connecting with France. The most important Sub-Saharan route is between the United Kingdom and South Africa. Cairo is both important as an entry point for Europe (mainly Germany) and the Middle East.