How much does air freight to Africa cost?
Air cargo is priced at £5.90 per kg plus a one-off £20 handling fee — quoted all-in in GBP, so nothing is billed to your family or business at the African end. For larger or bulky-but-light consignments, airlines charge on chargeable (volumetric) weight — the greater of actual weight and volume-based weight — so a light, bulky box can price above its scale weight. Send us your item list and dimensions and we'll confirm the exact chargeable weight before you commit.
When should you choose air over sea?
Choose air freight when speed matters: urgent documents and parcels, fragile goods, electronics, medication, spare parts, samples and high-value items you want moving in days. Choose sea cargo when you're shipping in bulk — barrels, boxes, furniture, a car or a full container — and timing is flexible. Many customers mix the two: the urgent items fly, the bulk follows by sea. We'll advise the cheaper route for each part of your shipment.
How long does air freight to Africa take?
Air cargo typically reaches the major African gateways — Lagos (MMA), Accra (Kotoka), Nairobi (JKIA) and others — in a few working days, plus customs clearance and onward door delivery. We quote a realistic window per shipment rather than a headline figure, because routing, airline schedules and destination customs all affect the door-to-door time.
What can you send by air?
Documents, parcels and personal effects, electronics and phones, medication and medical supplies, spare and machine parts, fragile and high-value items, commercial samples and urgent stock. Some goods are restricted on aircraft (e.g. certain batteries, liquids and aerosols) — tell us what's in the box and we'll confirm what can fly.
Door-to-door, not just airport-to-airport
We collect from any UK address into our Dagenham depot, prepare the UK-side customs paperwork (we're HMRC Customs Authorised and EORI registered), fly the cargo, clear it at destination and deliver to the recipient's door. You don't drop off at Heathrow and you don't leave family chasing cargo at the African airport — Rolats runs the whole chain.
Why ship air freight with Rolats?
A Dagenham depot, all-in GBP pricing at £5.90/kg + £20 handling, true door-to-door (not airport-to-airport), and customs-savvy clearance into around 45 African countries since 2007. Popular corridors include Nigeria, Ghana and Zimbabwe — but we fly to gateways right across the continent.