Charter 101: Flying Private to Africa

Masai Mara, Kenya. Photo Credit: Syldavia, iStock / Getty Images Plus

When analyzing charter aviation, two continents tend to stand out – North America and Europe. Air travel originated in the former more than a century ago, so it is perhaps not surprising that about three-fourths of all business jet flights take place there as well; throw in Europe as well, and you’re up to about 90%.

However, together those two continents account for less than 20 percent of the world’s total population…and their percentage is shrinking somewhat as birthrates fall. If you want population growth, you need to look elsewhere – namely, at Africa, the world’s second-most populous continent, with the fastest rate of population growth. Though Africa’s growth rate is not quite at the 3% level it reached in the 1980s, it still hovers around 2.5%, with total population expected to reach 2.4 billion people by 2050 (up from 1.5 billion today).

What does this mean for charter aviation? Well, planes need people to fly them – and fly in them – and, on top of a rapidly increasing population, Africa is the second-largest continent, with areas in all four hemispheres. People + distance offer a great deal of possibility for aviation in general, and charter aviation is no exception. If you’d like to know more about the future – and the present – of private jet travel in Africa, read on.

Hear the Drums Echoing Tonight

Though William Faulkner was American, not African, a quote of his assesses the interplay between history and modernity on the continent very accurately: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Africa’s story has been marked by interference from other world powers that continues to affect many elements – aviation included – today.

African traditional djembe drummer. Kruger National Park, South-Africa. PHoto Credit: Nicolas Deloche, Godong / Getty Images

Paul Travis, client services manager for Alto Aerospace Ltd, has more than four decades of experience in charter aviation – but to explain Africa, starts with the history of colonialism he studied for his Advanced Level qualifications required for university admission in the U.K. “The issue of Africa is political and economic stability,” Travis says. “From 1870 to 1914, Africa became almost 100% entirely taken over by European powers – Belgians, British, Dutch, French, Germans, Portuguese.”

The result, Travis points out, is a continent in which vast natural resources have not led to corresponding prosperity, due in part to frequent conflicts. “The European powers gave no attention to tribal boundaries and relationships and just stuck lines across a map,” Travis muses. “The tribal rivalries within the countries have led to a great deal of fighting, creating a lot of unstable countries often relatively deficient in infrastructure.”

One result of this history is a less developed continental aviation market than one might expect. While there are some major locally based airlines, such as Ethiopia Airlines and Kenya Airlines, European airlines also represent a significant share of the market, and they are not always inclined to use hubs in Africa instead of Europe. This is one element making commercial air travel within Africa relatively more expensive than in other settled continents.

However, this does not mean that charter air options are plentiful. “There aren’t many business jets on the continent, and you tend to find most of them in South Africa,” Travis says. “They have reasonable maintenance facilities and airport infrastructure that you don’t have in a lot of other places in Africa.”

It’s Waiting There for You

While almost half of all workers in Africa are part of the agricultural industry, the continent has no shortage of natural resources – oil and gas, coal, and minerals, among others. Outside companies who invest in these resources not infrequently turn to charter air travel to send in corporate representatives or shuttle around workers – which can get complicated.

“You have to do a good study of where you’re going and what you’re doing in terms of a risk assessment,” Travis says. “Corporate flight departments usually farm all of that business out to flight support companies.”

Other major drivers of the air charter market include flights for the Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to the religion’s holiest city – Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Muslims who are able to attend are supposed to do so at least once in a lifetime, and around 2 million worshippers typically travel each year.

Those planning to go on cruises also drive the African air charter market, with the proximity of pyramids in Egypt, the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and safaris in countless areas all pushing demand. The last category can especially necessitate complex travel arrangements requiring a skilled hand at charter logistics.

Moonlit Wings Reflect the Stars

Tourists on safari are typically looking to get away from it all – however, that ends up including highly developed air travel infrastructure as well. If you’re seeking quality time with lions and elephants in the wild, get ready for some bumpy landings – literally.

The starry sky above the Karoo National Park, South Africa. Photo Credit: fabio lamanna, iStock / Getty Images Plus

“In Africa, the majority of airstrips outside of major cities are not paved. You’re looking at gravel, grass, dirt – not really jet-friendly surfaces,” says Julian Asher, founder and managing director of Timeless Africa, a travel specialist focusing on eco-friendly travel to remote wilderness destinations. “This plus the short length of most bush airstrips means that options for appropriate private aircraft are somewhat limited. You can definitely book private planes – they just aren’t necessarily jets.”

There are some advantages to those non-jet options. “We tell clients to enjoy the things that are different, such as being able to see elephants, giraffes and hippos from the air,” Asher says. “Most light propeller-driven aircraft aren’t pressurized, so they fly relatively low and slow, enabling you to really appreciate Africa’s vast and varied landscapes.”

While Asher has booked his share of turboprop aircraft for clients, he says there are some business jets that can handle dirt airstrips, including the Cessna Citation and the Pilatus PC-24. They’re not well-suited for international trips, however. “Because these planes are small, they don’t have a huge amount of range,” Asher says. “You often end up doing a combination of commercial flights into big cities such as Johannesburg and then chartering into the bush.”

Even those aircraft are not likely to offer the luxury options that charter travelers in other continents may take for granted – wi-fi, catering, even bathrooms. In compensation, however, top-tier safari lodges are increasingly offering travelers comfortable landing facilities with lounges and chilled champagne. “It’s often an hour’s drive to camp after you land. Sometimes people are anxious about what they’re going to experience when they land at a bush airstrip,” Asher says. “Landing facilities can set the tone for the rest of your experience.”

Safari sojourners, however, may need to watch out for wildlife getting up close and personal. Asher remembers at least one leopard that liked to nap in a certain landing facility. “There’s an airport team standing by to clear the runway of wildlife, but you may occasionally need to buzz the airstrip to get rid of the impalas,” he cautions.

Kilimanjaro Rises Like Olympus

For locations lacking even rudimentary airstrips, helicopters may be another charter option. “The great thing about a helicopter is that you just need a flat spot of sufficient size,” Asher says. “It enables you to access areas that would otherwise be prohibitively difficult to get to.”

Mount Kilimanjaro, Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Photo credit: Martin Harvey, The Image Bank / Getty Images

Asher has arranged for some clients to travel via whirlybird who wanted to see Mount Kilimanjaro without an arduous journey. “It’s a way to get up the mountain without hiking,” he says. “You can’t helicopter over the summit, but you can land at several locations on the upper slopes of the mountain. Clients will go there, have a picnic, and fly back down – they’re unlikely to get altitude sickness being there for an hour. Some people hike to the summit and helicopter down.”

Careful selection of aircraft, however, is not the only challenge faced by charter air travelers in Africa. Historical tensions between neighboring countries can complicate longer trips. “There are a limited number of charter companies that can operate in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda,” Asher mentions. “Often, the license doesn’t carry over from South Africa to East Africa. If you’re going to cross borders, you have to think about whether it makes sense to swap planes.”

Travelers who require visas to stop in certain countries may find chartering more convenient than commercial air travel as well, Asher points out. “If you’re got someone on a passport for which they would usually need a visa, it’s easier if they can stay airside,” Asher says.

I Bless the Rains Down in…

Currently, business jet and turboprop flights in Africa represent about 1% of the global total – though demand seems to be rising. Business jet travel in Africa throughout the first quarter of 2025 appears to be up around 25% year over year – as compared with a global average increase of less than 5%. Africa has not been immune to the general uptick in private jet travel since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of flights in the region having more than doubled since the baseline in 2019.

Skyline of Johannesburg. PHoto Credit: Allan Baxter, The Image Bank / Getty images

Those involved in charter air travel in Africa expect the trend to continue. “Chartering makes certain things much easier than even scheduled charter airlines do, particularly accessing super-remote places that would otherwise be a pain,” Asher says. “It lets you minimize transit time and maximize time in the bush. ”

The best practice, according to Asher, is to keep the tradeoffs in mind. “Things are likely to be informal and flexible, which makes last-minute itinerary changes possible, but logistics may not tend to run as smoothly as they might otherwise because things are informal,” he concludes. “Travelers just need to be aware that chartering in Africa is fundamentally not going to be the same as chartering in the U.S. or Europe and understand that a little flexibility goes a long way towards making your experience more enjoyable.”