African Airlines schedule 13.89 million seats across top 10 markets in September

Airlines serving Africa’s top 10 major aviation markets scheduled 13.89 million seats in September 2026, with all 10 markets recording year-on-year growth in scheduled capacity.

According to aviation data provider OAG’s Africa Aviation Market Monthly Airline Data Update for September 2026, the top 10 markets accounted for more than half of the 25.8 million seats scheduled across the African aviation market during the month.

The 13.89 million seats scheduled across the 10 markets represented an increase from the 12.51 million seats scheduled in September 2025, reflecting continued expansion in airline capacity across some of the continent’s largest aviation markets.

Africa’s top markets expand capacity

Egypt recorded the highest scheduled capacity among the 10 major African aviation markets, with airlines scheduling 3.08 million seats in September 2026, up from 2.72 million seats a year earlier. This represented an increase of 364,800 seats and year-on-year growth of 13.4%.

• South Africa followed with 2.43 million scheduled seats, compared with 2.28 million in September 2025, while Morocco recorded 2.07 million seats, up from 1.88 million a year earlier.
• South Africa added 151,200 seats, representing 6.6% year-on-year growth, while Morocco added 188,000 seats, representing 10% growth. Ethiopia recorded 1.41 million scheduled seats, up from 1.32 million, with capacity increasing by 83,500 seats or 6.3%.
• Nigeria recorded 1.19 million scheduled seats, rising from 864,100 seats in September 2025. The Nigerian market added 322,800 seats, representing 37.4% year-on-year growth, the highest growth rate among the 10 markets.
• Algeria recorded 1.05 million seats, up from 980,200 a year earlier, representing an increase of 74,600 seats or 7.6%. Tunisia recorded 789,800 seats, compared with 765,300 in September 2025, an increase of 24,500 seats or 3.2%.
• Tanzania recorded 733,000 scheduled seats, up from 655,900 a year earlier, while Kenya recorded 833,100 seats, compared with 826,200 in September 2025. Their capacity increased by 77,100 seats or 11.7%, and 6,900 seats or 0.8%, respectively.

Ghana recorded 302,100 seats, up from 267,500 in September 2025, with scheduled capacity increasing by 34,600 seats or 12.9%. Overall, all 10 major African aviation markets recorded year-on-year growth in scheduled capacity in September.

Africa schedules 25.8 million seats

Airlines serving African markets scheduled 25.8 million seats in September 2026, representing a 9.4% increase from the 23.5 million seats scheduled in September 2025, according to OAG.

• The September figure was below the 27.3 million seats scheduled in August 2026, but both international and domestic capacity recorded year-on-year growth.
• International services accounted for 78% of Africa’s scheduled capacity in September and grew by 8.9% year-on-year, while domestic capacity increased by 11.6%.
• Low-cost carriers scheduled 5.3 million seats during the month, representing an 11.5% increase from a year earlier.

OAG’s scheduled seat capacity measures the number of seats airlines make available for sale and provides an indication of the scale of their operations.

The ranking covers both African and international airlines serving the continent.

The data points to continued growth in scheduled airline capacity across the African aviation market despite the month-on-month decline from August.

Airlines ranked by capacity

The September ranking of airlines serving African markets was led by Ethiopian Airlines, which recorded 2.09 million scheduled seats, up 10% from 1.90 million seats in September 2025, according to OAG data.

• Safair ranked second with 1.08 million seats, up 7.1% year-on-year, while EgyptAir ranked third with 890,773 seats, representing a 6.7% increase.
• Royal Air Maroc recorded the second-highest growth rate among the ranked airlines, with scheduled capacity rising 19.2% to 793,257 seats.
• Air Algérie followed in fifth place with 756,627 seats, up 13.3%, while Airlink ranked sixth with 538,052 seats, up 5.1%.
• Ryanair ranked seventh with 472,839 seats, representing 5.3% growth, while Emirates recorded 427,100 scheduled seats, up 9.3%, placing it eighth in the ranking.
• Air Cairo entered the top 10 at ninth with 360,502 seats, up 14.9% year-on-year.

Air Peace returned to the top 10 at number 10 after dropping out of the ranking in August. The Nigerian carrier recorded 354,804 scheduled seats, up 54.7% from 229,412 seats a year earlier, making it the fastest-growing airline in the September ranking.