Greetings from TDN.
We've just launched the Africa Distribution Readiness Index 2027, a carrier-by-carrier look at where distribution infrastructure actually stands across all 54 African markets.
A few findings stood out:
Only five airlines currently hold ARM-certified NDC status on IATA's official registry. Much of the other NDC activity being reported across the continent is announced, deployed, or self-reported rather than independently verified.
Egypt is the only African market where three carriers, EgyptAir, Air Cairo, and Nile Air, have live or certified NDC activity at the same time.
Kenya Airways applies a structural GDS surcharge on agency bookings, while its NDC channel carries no equivalent charge, a clear commercial incentive to shift distribution toward NDC.
The report goes beyond NDC. It maps GDS and distribution technology, OTA and aggregator activity, payment infrastructure, and market-level priority ratings across the continent.
If you work at an airline, GDS, OTA, NDC provider, payment company, or travel technology business, this gives you a real baseline for where Africa's distribution market stands and where it's heading.
Questions? Just reply to this email. I'd be happy to hear what you're seeing in your market.
Gustave Sugira
Founder & Editor-in-Chief
Travel Distribution News