South African regional carrier FlySafair has been awarded the title of Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa at the prestigious Skytrax World Airline Awards 2025. The airline was awarded first place in this competitive category, reflecting its performance in the region's low-cost travel sector.
Lift, another South African domestic airline and last year’s winner, secured the position of second-best low-cost airline in Africa in 2025. Zimbabwe-based Fastjet, which operates domestic flights in Zimbabwe and regional flights across southern Africa, claimed the third spot.
In addition, South African airline Airlink was recognized as the Cleanest Airline in Africa for 2025, reflecting its high standards in aircraft cleanliness and onboard hygiene.
The 2025 Skytrax World Airline Awards were based on the results of a global passenger satisfaction survey conducted between September 2024 and May 2025. More than 100 nationalities participated, with responses carefully screened to remove duplicate or ineligible entries. Over 325 airlines were included in the final results, making the Skytrax Awards one of the most comprehensive airline rankings in the industry.
18 June 2025
Survey: FlySafair named best low-cost airline in Africa 2025!
24 June 2024
Survey: LIFT named best low-cost airline in Africa 2024!
South African domestic airline, LIFT, has been named Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa in the 2024 Skytrax World Airline Awards. South African regional airline FlySafair, winner of the previous three years, was voted second best in Africa 2024. African airline Fastjet, which mainly operates flights in and from Zimbabwe, was named third best low-cost airline in Africa 2024.
South Africa's flag carrier airline, South African Airways (SAA), was named Cleanest Airline in Africa 2024 and its staff was rated second best in Africa 2024.
The Skytrax World Airline Awards 2024 are based on customer responses to an online survey which was operated from September 2023 to May 2024. Over 100 customer nationalities participated in the survey. All survey entries were screened to identify IP and user information, with duplicate, suspect or ineligible entries deleted. More than 350 airlines are featured in the final Award results.
25 April 2024
South Africa: LIFT temporarily suspends one of its daily routes to Durban!
South African domestic airline LIFT has announced that it will temporarily discontinue one of its daily routes to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. During the upcoming winter period, the airline will suspend its service between King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban and Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town from 07 May 2024 to 12 June 2024. All bookings already made for this period will be accommodated for. LIFT currently operates two daily direct flights between Cape Town and Durban as well as several daily flights between Johannesburg and Durban.
10 November 2022
South Africa: Lift to launch flights between Cape Town <> Durban!
South African airline Lift is set to launch its third domestic route in South Africa. Effective 25 November 2022, the airline will introduce scheduled flights between Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town and King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban. Lift will operate two daily return flights from Cape Town to Durban - an early morning flight and one in the afternoon/early evening. The early morning flight will depart Cape Town at 06:00 and arrive in Durban at 08:05, while the return flight will depart Durban at 09:00 and arrive in Cape Town at 11:15. The afternoon flight will depart Cape Town at 15:00 and arrive in Durban at 17:05, while the return flight will depart Durban at 18:05 and arrive in Cape Town at 20:20. Flights are open for bookings!
Lift launched operations in South Africa on 10 December 2020. The airline is a joint venture between former Kulula.com CEO Gidon Novick, former Uber executive Jonathan Ayache, and aircraft leasing company Global Airways, a South African-based ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) specialist.
22 September 2022
South Africa: LIFT to launch flights to Durban! [update]
update (22 September 2022): Lift expects to announce flights between Cape Town and Durban in the coming weeks, with flights expected to operate from November 2022. We'll keep you posted!
South African airline Lift has announced that it will be adding flights to Durban in KwaZulu-Natal to its domestic network. The airline is set to launch a daily service between OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg and King Shaka International Airport (DUR) in Durban on 26 October 2022. Flights will be operated on board an Airbus A320 configured in an all 162 seat layout (12 Premium & 150 Economy).
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Lift launched operations in South Africa on 10 December 2020. The airline is a joint venture between former Kulula.com CEO Gidon Novick, former Uber executive Jonathan Ayache, and aircraft leasing company Global Airways, a South African-based ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) specialist.
01 July 2021
Covid-19: LIFT Airline temporarily suspends operations!
South African domestic airline LIFT has announced the temporary suspension of flights. The airline, which is currently only operating flights between Cape Town International Airport (CPT) in Cape Town and OR Tambo International Airport (JNB) in Johannesburg, will cancel all flights from 05 July 2021 - 31 July 2021 and will resume scheduled services again from 01 August 2021. All affected LIFT travellers will be provided with an alternative flight. According to the airline, the impact of the new regulations in South Africa and the third Covid-19 wave has has led to the decision to temporarily suspend services. We'll keep you posted!
LIFT is a joint venture between Gidon Novick, the former CEO of Kulula.com, former Uber executive Jonathan Ayache and Global Airways, a South African-based aircraft leasing company. The airline was established in October 2020 and commenced operations on 10 December 2020.
09 November 2020
"Lift": South Africa's newest low-cost airline to launch operations in December 2020!
South Africa's newest low-cost airline, Lift, is set to launch operations on 10 December 2020. The airline's website will be open for online bookings from 10 November 2020. Lift, which will initially make use of Global Aviation's aircraft (three Airbus A320-200), maintenance facilities, cabin crew, pilots and its central flight control facility, will operate seven return flights a day between Cape Town, George and Johannesburg. The airline will offer fully flexible tickets and customers will be able to change their flight as many times as they want to without fees.
Lift is a partnership between established South African airline Global Aviation, which main strategy is to offer fully crewed, maintained and insured aircraft (ACMI) for established airlines, the founder of South African low-cost carrier Kulula, Gidon Novick, and former Uber executive Jonathan Ayache.