African airlines lead international passenger capacity growth at 8.3% in August

African airlines led international passenger capacity growth among the regional markets tracked by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), with available seat capacity increasing 8.3% year-on-year in August 2026.

The increase was reported by IATA in its August 2026 global passenger market data, which showed that African airlines expanded capacity faster than carriers in other regions tracked during the month.

The growth came as international passenger demand in Africa also increased, although the pace of demand growth remained below the rate at which airlines added seats.

Africa leads capacity growth at 8.3%

African airlines recorded a 6.7% year-on-year increase in international passenger demand in August, while capacity rose 8.3% over the same period.

Their passenger load factor stood at 78.4%, representing a 1.2 percentage-point decline from August 2025. Other regional markets recorded mixed demand and capacity trends during the month.

• “African airlines saw a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 8.3% year-on-year. The load factor was 78.4% (-1.2 ppt compared to August 2025),” the report read in part.

Latin American airlines recorded a 6.7% increase in passenger demand, while capacity grew 6.4%, with their load factor rising 0.2 percentage points to 84.8%.

European carriers saw passenger demand rise 2.1%, while capacity increased 2.8%, leaving their load factor at 86.8%, down 0.6 percentage points.

Asia-Pacific airlines recorded a 0.1% decline in passenger demand and a 0.9% fall in capacity, while their load factor rose 0.7 percentage points to 85.6%.

North American airlines recorded a 1.7% decline in demand and a 1.1% decline in capacity, while Middle Eastern airlines recorded a 14.2% demand decline and a 9.0% capacity drop.

Global passenger market contracts

Global passenger demand fell 0.8% year-on-year in August 2026, while total capacity increased 0.3%, pushing the global passenger load factor down 0.9 percentage points to 85.1%.

International passenger demand declined 0.9% year-on-year, while international capacity was unchanged. Excluding Middle Eastern carriers, however, international demand increased 1.3%.

Domestic passenger demand declined 0.5% year-on-year, while domestic capacity increased 0.7%, leaving the domestic passenger load factor at 85.3%, down 1.1 percentage points.

• “Global demand for air transport contracted by 0.8% compared to August 2025 as the recovery trajectory for carriers in the Middle East was interrupted,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist.

Thomsen said demand excluding Middle Eastern carriers grew 0.6% year-on-year in August, but at half the pace recorded in July.

• “Global connectivity was generally weaker in August,” Thomsen said, noting that domestic China was among the important exceptions.

Thomsen also said the coming months would show whether reduced purchasing power from higher energy prices would affect travel budgets and whether geopolitical instability would discourage travel. Forward schedules for October show 2.0% growth in available seats, according to IATA.

African airline demand stays positive

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, then surged 19.2% in March before moderating to 2.2% in April.
• Demand accelerated to 8.9% in May and 6.7% in June, while July recorded 6.4% growth.
• International capacity also expanded strongly in July, rising 9.0% year-on-year, contributing to the regional passenger load factor falling to 74.1%.
• In August, capacity growth accelerated to 8.3%, while passenger demand increased 6.7%.

The August figures show that African airlines continued to expand international capacity despite the varying pace of passenger demand growth recorded during the year.

Nigeria airline capacity surges 37%

The expansion in African airline capacity is also reflected in scheduled seat capacity across the continent, with Nigeria recording particularly strong growth in August 2026.

• Nigeria recorded a 37% year-on-year increase in scheduled airline seat capacity to 1.22 million seats, the fastest growth among Africa’s top aviation markets, according to OAG Scheduled Capacity Data for August 2026.
• Nigeria added about 330,700 scheduled seats compared with August 2025, while total scheduled airline capacity across Africa increased 8.4% to 27.3 million seats.
• International services accounted for 21.5 million seats, representing 79% of the continent’s total scheduled capacity, while domestic services contributed 5.8 million seats, up 11% year-on-year.
• Nigeria’s domestic market also recorded strong growth, with scheduled capacity increasing 42.6% year-on-year to 907,600 seats.

Egypt remained Africa’s largest airline market with 3.2 million scheduled seats, followed by South Africa with 2.34 million and Morocco with 2.21 million.

Ethiopian Airlines remained Africa’s largest carrier by scheduled seat capacity, with 2.19 million seats, up 10.9% year-on-year, while Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, recorded a 25.6% year-on-year increase in scheduled seat capacity in August.

Cairo International Airport remained the continent’s busiest airport with 1.85 million scheduled seats, followed by Addis Ababa with 1.25 million and Johannesburg with 1.15 million.