Africa’s 10 Most Underdeveloped Airports by 2025

Have you ever paused to consider the critical role that airports play in our interconnected world? They are more than just places where you board a flight; they are arteries of economic lifeblood, especially in regions like Africa, where they promise to change lives and expectations.

Often underestimated, airports serve as vital threads in the fabric of global commerce, tourism, and regional progress. This is nowhere more apparent than in Africa—a continent that stretches beyond our imagination and where air transport has the extraordinary potential to weave together disparate communities and economies.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Africa is on the verge of an aviation boom. Forecasts suggest nearly 5% annual growth in the aviation sector over the next two decades. Such statistics offer a vision of a future where distances mean less, replaced instead by networks of opportunity and growth.

Yet, with all this potential, some airports lag far behind. Instead of bustling centers of activity, many remain neglected and, quite frankly, an echo of what they once promised to be. In 2025, some remain trapped in time; they’re underperforming and struggling to launch their own version of success.

Have you ever wondered how a country’s global connectivity is gauged? According to Global Firepower (GFP), South Africa stands at the vanguard with 575 serviceable airports, ranking 13th on the global ladder. Following are Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 370 and 272 airports, respectively. Still, others like Sierra Leone, with just 8, and Eritrea and Benin, with only 10 each, are left peering into the skies of possibility from the other end of the spectrum.

The situation is compounded by aged and decaying infrastructure. Many airports were erected in a past era and have seen little to no modernization since. It’s not just about aesthetic beauty—it’s about functioning runways, reliable utilities, and modern navigation systems. When these falter, it’s not just a matter of inconvenience but a genuine deterrence to airline partnerships and passenger patronage.

The challenges don’t stop at infrastructure, though. Many airports find themselves trapped in the economic doldrums. Struggling to balance their books, numerous facilities are forced to rely on government subsidies to maintain even the most rudimentary levels of functionality. So, can an airport truly soar under such financial strain?

Moreover, external hurdles loom large. Conflict, political instability, and environmental nuances such as flooding and heavy fog, further mar the smooth functioning of these essential nodes. Every plane that doesn’t land or business that stays away nudges these regions further into isolation, the very opposite of what airports intended to achieve.

Below are the top 10 African countries with the least serviceable airports in 2025:

Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times International–Monitoring.