South African regional carrier FlySafair has been awarded Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa at the 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards for the second year running, successfully defending the title it first won in 2025. Zimbabwe-based Fastjet took second place this year, swapping positions with South African domestic carrier LIFT, which finished third after placing second in 2025. FlySafair also placed 8th among all African airlines overall, ahead of several long-established full-service carriers on the continent.
South African Airways (SAA) was named Cleanest Airline in Africa for 2026, reclaiming the title after losing it to Airlink last year. SAA also placed 6th among all African airlines and 72nd in the World's Top 100 Airlines overall, down slightly from 68th in 2025.
Air Mauritius was the region's top performer in the overall rankings, climbing from 64th to 52nd in the World's Top 100 Airlines and placing 3rd in Africa — ahead of SAA, and a 12-place jump on last year's result.
Fastjet and LIFT both featured prominently in the wider African rankings too, placing 9th and 10th respectively among all African airlines.
Across the continent, Ethiopian Airlines was named the top-ranked African airline overall, followed by Egyptair in 2nd and Royal Air Maroc in 4th, with RwandAir and Kenya Airways also featuring in the continent's top 10 alongside the Southern African carriers above.
Globally, Singapore Airlines was named the World's Best Airline for 2026, with Qatar Airways in 2nd and Cathay Pacific Airways in 3rd place.
The 2026 Skytrax World Airline Awards were based on the results of a global passenger satisfaction survey conducted between September 2025 and June 2026. 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.
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