In Africa, less than one in five continental airline routes are direct. Air connections are decided by factors like trade levels, diplomatic relations, and whether there’s enough demand to make a route financially worthwhile. Because there are so few direct connections in Africa, getting from one country to another often requires travellers to fly to Europe or the Middle East and transit there. This increases the costs of travel within Africa, and limits tourism and investment flows.
The G20 group of the world’s most powerful economies is led in 2025 by South Africa. One of its top four tourism priorities is promoting modernised air service agreements that allow for direct flights, or seamless travel, between countries. Specialist tourism geographer Kaitano Dube explains why.
