Flights to Madagascar: routes, airlines and flight times

There are no direct flights to Madagascar from the UK or the US. You change planes at least once, usually in Paris, Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Istanbul, Dubai or Johannesburg, and land at Ivato (TNR), Antananarivo's international airport. From London that's about 12 to 14 hours in the air and usually 15 to 22 hours with the connection. From the US east coast, allow 19 hours at the very least, and often more than a day.

Paris Charles de Gaulle is the European departure point to check for a nonstop Air France service to Antananarivo. Some services sold as a direct flight elsewhere still make an intermediate stop, so read the itinerary rather than counting flight numbers. We also explain what your landing time means for day 1, and how to plan domestic flights around a timetable that moves.

Which airlines fly to Madagascar in 2026

These are the connections to compare for Antananarivo. The booking you can actually buy for your dates takes priority over a route map. Check operating days, any intermediate stop and the arrival time before fitting a tour around it.

• Air France, via Paris. Look for the nonstop Charles de Gaulle service. A late arrival means a hotel night before you start driving out of the capital.
• Ethiopian Airlines, via Addis Ababa. Compare Antananarivo with Nosy Be if you're planning a northern trip. Ethiopian sells both destinations and connects through Addis from the UK and the US.
• Kenya Airways, via Nairobi. A route to compare from London and New York. Check the transit and health rules against your full itinerary.
• Turkish Airlines, via Istanbul. Read the flight details carefully: the Antananarivo service can include Mauritius as an intermediate stop.
• Emirates, via Dubai. Its Antananarivo service operates via Mahé in the Seychelles. One flight number doesn't mean a nonstop flight from Dubai.
• Airlink, via Johannesburg. The airline serves Antananarivo and Nosy Be. A northern arrival may save a domestic flight, but check the dates rather than assuming a daily service.
• The island connections. Air Mauritius sells Mauritius to Antananarivo, and Air Austral sells Réunion to Antananarivo. These can work for a two-island holiday as well as a connection from Europe.

The national airline runs the domestic legs used by several of our trips. A ticket sold under one airline's code can be operated by another, so check the operating carrier and the baggage allowance on each leg.

Don't plan a long drive from an evening arrival. Compare an airport hotel with a night in town once you know your landing time and the next morning's departure. Our Antananarivo guide explains what you can usefully do with a spare day.

Flights to Madagascar from London and the rest of the UK

From London, most itineraries take 15 to 22 hours, connection included, and the very quickest come in under 13 hours. As a rough 2026 fare-search snapshot, London returns were about 600 to 950 pounds; that's a planning allowance, not a quote. The date matters enough that a school-holiday ticket can sit well above that range.

From London, we'd start with these two:

• Ethiopian via Addis Ababa is worth comparing from Heathrow, especially when the connection reaches Antananarivo in daylight.
• Air France via Paris offers the nonstop Paris leg. Check the arrival time at Ivato before choosing the first hotel.

Emirates via Dubai, Kenya Airways via Nairobi, Turkish via Istanbul and Airlink via Johannesburg are worth pricing too, especially for July and August, when fares peak. If two fares are close, we'd take the daylight arrival.

Two checks before you book a route through East Africa. If a layover in Addis Ababa or Nairobi runs past 12 hours, the US CDC says you need a yellow fever certificate to enter Madagascar, because Ethiopia and Kenya are both yellow fever risk countries. And under Madagascar's Ebola measures, anyone who has been in or through an affected country in the previous 21 days may be refused entry, the UK government says. Ask your airline what applies to your full routing before you pay (more in our safety guide).

Flights to Madagascar from the US

Nothing flies nonstop from North America either. From the east coast the quickest connections take roughly 19 to 23 hours:

• Kenya Airways flies nonstop from New York JFK to Nairobi, then on to Antananarivo.
• Ethiopian flies from Washington and other US cities to Addis Ababa, then on to Antananarivo or Nosy Be.
• Air France goes through Paris, about 22 hours from Newark on a good connection.

Cheaper tickets often add a second stop and run well past a day. In 2026 a return from New York typically costs about $1,200 to $2,200, cheapest in January and dearest in December.

With a journey that long, give yourself a night in Antananarivo before the trip proper starts. Let the first day start after some sleep.

Flying into Nosy Be, and open-jaw tickets

Nosy Be's Fascene airport takes a few international flights of its own. Ethiopian sells Nosy Be connections through Addis Ababa, and Airlink and Air Austral also list the island in their networks. The useful flight is the one that runs on your actual departure date. That makes an open-jaw ticket possible: into one airport, home from another, with no backtracking.

The obvious fit is our 11-day Northern Madagascar trip, from €1,790 per adult. It starts with a morning flight from Antananarivo to Diego Suarez and finishes on Nosy Be after four nights there. Fly into Antananarivo, sleep near the airport, and fly home from Nosy Be through Addis Ababa, and you skip the domestic flight back to the capital. Ask the airline to price both airports on one booking and check how baggage and missed connections would be handled.

Price the whole route before assuming it saves money. A higher international fare may still be worth it if it removes a domestic ticket and an extra hotel night. If you only want the island, you can fly straight there and skip the capital (our Nosy Be guide).

How we plan domestic flights around schedule changes

Of our set trips, only the 2-day Andasibe trip and the 20-day Ultimate need no domestic flight. The Classic South drives down the RN7 and flies back from Tulear, the Eastern trip flies back from Sainte-Marie, the 5-day West trip starts and ends in Morondava, the 10-day West Adventure flies back from Morondava, and both north trips fly to Diego Suarez. None of these flights is in the trip price, and we can book them for you.

Because the timetable moves, we'd plan around it like this:

• Never on the day you fly home. Get the domestic flight back to Antananarivo at least a night before your international one. A spare night gives you some room if the schedule changes; it can't cover every disruption.
• Not on the day you land, if you can avoid it. On separate tickets, don't assume the second airline will cover a missed connection. Check the fare conditions and insurance before relying on one.

Every trip can be reshaped, so if you'd rather drive a leg than fly it, or add a night in the capital at either end, tell us. Send your international flight times with your request on the booking page and we'll fit the first and last days around them. Our guide to getting around Madagascar compares the flights with the drive times.

When to book flights to Madagascar

Book early for late July, August and the fortnight around Christmas and New Year, when fares are highest. Only a handful of international flights reach Antananarivo on any day, so the cheaper seats on a given date go first. January is usually the cheapest month to fly, but it's the middle of the rains, when the Tsingy de Bemaraha is usually closed (our month-by-month guide).

Agree the broad route and check domestic availability before paying for international tickets. Then send us the confirmed flight times so we can fit the first and last days around them. Domestic times can still change after booking.

Photos: Rafael Peier, Sandy Ravaloniaina and Marcelo Delgado on Unsplash.