Africa's aviation market
Monthly airline data updates for the African market
November 2026
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How much airline capacity does Africa have in 2026?
Monthly scheduled capacity: November 2025 vs November 2026
Capacity to/from North Africa is the largest market with 7m seats, growing by 530,000 seats vs last year.
Capacity to/from Western Europe is the second largest market with 4.5m seats and grew by 156,400 seats vs last year.
Capacity to/from Central/Western Africa grew by 14.5% (443,600 additional seats).
Are low cost carriers growing in Africa?
Mainline carriers represent 79% of the market and capacity increased by 5.7% vs Nov 25. LCCs grew by 8.6% vs last year to 5.4m seats.
Mainline vs low-cost
Which African country has the most airline seats?
Egypt remains the largest country market in Africa with 3.2m seats in Nov 26, an increase of 9.8% vs last year.
With the Top 10 countries, capacity grew at the fastest rate again in Nigeria, with a 25.3% increase vs Nov 25 (261,800 additional seats).
Top 10 countries by seat capacity
Capacity changes by country · November 2025 vs November 2026
Eight of Africa’s ten largest country markets added seat capacity in November 2026 vs November 2025; South Africa (-47,200, -2.0%) and Tunisia (-2,100, -0.4%) removed capacity. Egypt added the most seats (+282,700, +9.8%), followed by Nigeria (+261,800, +25.3%) and Morocco (+171,200, +9.1%). Algeria added the fewest (+1,700, +0.2%).
| Country | Nov 2025 seats | Nov 2026 seats | Change | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | 2,897,767 | 3,180,444 | +282,677 | +9.8% |
| Nigeria | 1,034,555 | 1,296,314 | +261,759 | +25.3% |
| Morocco | 1,881,287 | 2,052,497 | +171,210 | +9.1% |
| Ethiopia | 1,317,759 | 1,386,157 | +68,398 | +5.2% |
| Kenya | 835,728 | 896,789 | +61,061 | +7.3% |
| Tanzania | 584,764 | 644,025 | +59,261 | +10.1% |
| Ghana | 261,352 | 292,113 | +30,761 | +11.8% |
| Algeria | 946,655 | 948,334 | +1,679 | +0.2% |
| Tunisia | 531,727 | 529,666 | -2,061 | -0.4% |
| South Africa | 2,408,314 | 2,361,118 | -47,196 | -2.0% |
Which African country has the most domestic flights?
South Africa continues to be the largest Domestic market in Africa, with 1.6m seats this month, despite a decline of 3.8% vs last year.
Domestic capacity increased by 29.1% in Nigeria to 978,000 seats in Nov 26 (220,600 additional seats).
Domestic capacity grew by 26% in Congo and 18.4% in Egypt vs last year. The former remains a small market with 129,600 seats in Nov 26.
Top 10 domestic markets by seat capacity
Which is the biggest airline in Africa?
Ethiopian Airlines remains Africa's largest carrier, operating 2m seats in Nov 26, an increase of 6% (115,700 additional seats).
Within the Top 10, Royal Air Maroc grew at the fastest rate in the region of 22.9% followed by Air Cairo increasing by 22.6% and easyJet increasing by 19.3% vs last year.
Seat capacity by airline
| No | Airline | Nov 2025 seats | Nov 2026 seats | YoY % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ethiopian Airlines | 1,915,092 | 2,030,811 | +6.0% |
| 2. | Safair | 1,012,278 | 992,250 | -2.0% |
| 3. | Egyptair | 824,669 | 896,226 | +8.7% |
| 4. | Royal Air Maroc | 644,746 | 792,378 | +22.9% |
| 5. | Air Algerie | 660,709 | 683,188 | +3.4% |
| 6. | Airlink | 498,112 | 538,160 | +8.0% |
| 7. | Ryanair | 443,169 | 466,320 | +5.2% |
| 8. | Emirates | 386,539 | 422,853 | +9.4% |
| 9. | Air Cairo | 330,226 | 404,964 | +22.6% |
| 10. | easyJet | 329,050 | 392,622 | +19.3% |
Royal Air Maroc grew fastest in the top 10 at +22.9% to 792,378 seats, followed by Air Cairo (+22.6%, 404,964 seats) and easyJet (+19.3%, 392,622 seats). Safair is the only top 10 carrier to reduce capacity, down 2.0% to 992,250 seats.
What is the busiest airport in Africa?
Cairo remains the largest airport in the continent with 1.7m seats in Nov 26, capacity increased by 10.1% vs Nov 25.
Fastest growth within the Top 10 largest airports in Africa came again from Lagos, with an increase of 18.6% (80,700 additional seats). Followed by Casablanca, Morocco, where it grew by 17.2% (101,100 seats).
| No | Code | Airport | Seats | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | CAI | Cairo | 1.74m | +10.1% |
| 2. | ADD | Addis Ababa | 1.17m | +4.0% |
| 3. | JNB | Johannesburg | 1.12m | -1.2% |
| 4. | CMN | Casablanca | 0.69m | +17.2% |
| 5. | CPT | Cape Town | 0.62m | -0.5% |
| 6. | RAK | Marrakech | 0.58m | +0.3% |
| 7. | HRG | Hurghada | 0.54m | +6.1% |
| 8. | ALG | Algiers | 0.52m | +3.2% |
| 9. | LOS | Lagos | 0.51m | +18.6% |
| 10. | NBO | Nairobi | 0.51m | +6.6% |
Source: OAG · hover chart or click a table row to cross-highlight
Where do African airlines fly internationally?
Capacity to Europe remains the largest International destination region, with 9.7m seats (423,600 additional seats vs Nov 25).
Capacity to the Middle East and within Africa are a close second and third largest market with 4.35m seats and 4.16m seats respectively in Nov 26.
Capacity by destination region
Capacity to the Middle East and within Africa are a close second and third largest market with 4.35m seats and 4.16m seats respectively in Nov 26.
Africa aviation: frequently asked questions
How much airline capacity is there in Africa? Find out with new data each month. Data is sourced from OAG's Schedules Analyser.
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Total capacity across Africa this month has increased by 6.3% vs Nov 25 to 25.2m seats.
International capacity represents 77% of total capacity and is up by 5.6% vs Nov 25. Domestic capacity increased by 8.6%.