African airlines lead global international capacity growth at 9% in July

African airlines recorded the highest growth in international passenger capacity globally, rising 9.0% year-on-year in July 2026, according to the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) latest passenger traffic report.

The figures were contained in IATA’s global passenger demand report for July 2026.

International passenger demand for African carriers also increased by 6.4% during the month, although capacity grew faster than demand.

What IATA is saying

IATA said the faster expansion in capacity than passenger demand pushed African carriers’ load factor down to 74.1% in July.

• “African airlines saw a 6.4% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 9.0% year-on-year. The load factor was 74.1% (-1.8 ppt compared to July 2025),” the report stated.
• The 6.4% demand growth placed African carriers among the stronger-performing international markets during the month, although Latin American airlines recorded a higher 7.1% increase.

European carriers followed with a 3.1% increase in demand, while Asia-Pacific airlines recorded a 0.7% decline.

North American carriers recorded a 2.3% decline in international passenger demand, while Middle Eastern carriers posted the sharpest fall at 9.5%.

Global air travel demand remains broadly resilient in July

Global passenger demand rose 0.2% year-on-year in July 2026, while capacity increased 0.3%, according to IATA.

• International demand declined 0.1%, although it rose 1.5% excluding the Middle East. Domestic demand grew 0.6%, while the global load factor stood at 85.2%.
• IATA said the figures reflected a mostly positive peak Northern summer travel season, despite high fuel costs, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.
• “The peak Northern summer travel season is a mostly positive story for air travel,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist.

She added that airlines remained confident about demand for the rest of the year, with seat capacity expected to expand by almost 3% in September.

More insights

African airlines have maintained positive international passenger demand growth throughout 2026, although the pace has varied across the year.

• Demand increased 11.7% year-on-year in January, before slowing to 4.8% in February.
• Growth then surged to 19.2% in March before moderating to 2.2% in April.
• Demand accelerated to 8.9% in May and 6.7% in June.
• July recorded 6.4% demand growth, while capacity expanded 9.0%, its strongest monthly increase of the year so far.

The faster capacity growth contributed to the decline in the regional load factor to 74.1% in July.

What you should know

African airlines’ capacity growth came as scheduled airline capacity across the continent also expanded, according to OAG’s latest African aviation market report.

• Total scheduled airline capacity across Africa increased 7.5% year-on-year to 26.3 million seats in July 2026.
• International services accounted for 79% of total capacity, with international seat capacity rising 6.6%, while domestic capacity increased 11.1%.
• Nigeria recorded a 44.5% increase in scheduled capacity to 1.22 million seats, while domestic capacity rose 54.8% to 921,100 seats.
• Air Peace recorded Africa’s largest increase in scheduled seats, adding about 121,000 seats, representing a 50.6% year-on-year increase.

Nigeria ranked fifth among Africa’s largest aviation markets by total scheduled capacity, behind Egypt, South Africa, Morocco and Ethiopia. Egypt remained the continent’s largest market with 2.9 million scheduled seats in July.