European, Middle East Airlines, others foray into African market with codeshare deals with continent’s airlines

European, Middle East and American airlines have begun to see Africa as a fertile ground for airline business as they begin to ink codeshare pacts with the continent’s airlines to expand their operations in the region.

The latest pact is the one involving Turkish Airlines, the flag carrier of Türkiye. The carrier has signed a comprehensive codeshare agreement with South Africa-based Airlink to strengthen its presence on the African continent.

The agreement, which will take effect on August 1, 2025, was signed at a ceremony held at Airlink’s Head Office in Johannesburg, with the participation of senior executives from both companies.

This strategic collaboration will significantly expand guests’ travel options by integrating Turkish Airlines’ unparalleled global network with Airlink’s extensive domestic and regional routes across South Africa and its region.

The partnership enables seamless multi-sector travel on a single ticket, offering greater convenience and flexibility for international and regional travellers.

Under the new agreement, Turkish Airlines will place its “TK” flight code on Airlink-operated flights, enabling seamless connections from Turkish Airlines’ services in Cape Town and Johannesburg to a wide range of South African and regional destinations.

Commenting on the agreement, Turkish Airlines Chief Investment & Strategy Officer Levent Konukcu stated, “As Turkish Airlines, we give importance to this cooperation with Airlink to enhance our connectivity in South Africa and the region. We aim to improve our partnership to maximise the travel opportunities offered to our guests. We believe that this partnership will not only bring benefits to both carriers from a commercial perspective but also improve the cultural and tourism relations between the two countries.”

 Airlink Chief Executive Officer, de Villiers Engelbrecht, said: ”This collaboration with Turkish Airlines represents a significant opportunity to deepen ties between the two airlines. The agreement is a further endorsement of Airlink’s brand, while for our respective customers, it means more convenient travel options, with world-class service and easier access to destinations across our combined and extensive route networks.”

With this collaboration, Turkish Airlines will not only advance its strategic growth in Africa but also further strengthen its regional presence while offering enhanced options for its guests.

Just last year, RwandAir signed a codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways, a deal that placed Rwanda’s national carrier code on 65 routes of the Doha-based airline.

This gives customers of both airlines more choice, enhanced service, and greater connectivity to destinations across Africa and the rest of the world, RwandAir said in a statement.

Under the agreement, the national carrier will also launch new non-stop flights between its Kigali hub and Doha in December this year.

“This is a major milestone for RwandAir and marks the beginning of an exciting new journey with Qatar Airways,” said Yvonne Makolo, RwandAir CEO.

She also commended efforts to secure Doha for the airline’s route network, which paves the way to connecting customers with Qatar’s hub and further expanding their flight map.

This month, Qatar Airways and Kenya Airways signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), confirming the intention to enter a strategic partnership which will include a comprehensive codeshare agreement and increased flights between the East African state and Qatar Airways’ award-winning Doha hub, Hamad International Airport.

The partnership will see Qatar Airways introducing a third daily frequency between Doha and Nairobi in codeshare with Kenya Airways, with flights due to be available for booking over the coming days.

The new offering will be complemented by the launch of Kenya Airways-operated and Qatar Airways-marketed flights between Mombasa and Doha during the coming winter season.

Wole Shadare