Africa’s 10 busiest airports account for 8.35 million seats in August
Africa’s 10 busiest airports accounted for a combined 8.35 million scheduled departing seats in August 2026. The post Africa’s 10 busiest airports account for 8.35 million seats in August appeared first on Nairametrics .
In August 2026, the 10 busiest airports in Africa collectively handled 8.35 million scheduled departing seats, accounting for approximately 30.6% of the continent's total scheduled seats that month. Nairametrics calculated this figure by aggregating data from the OAG regarding the 10 busiest airports in Africa, ranked by their scheduled departing seats. These airports represented 8.4% more capacity than in August 2025.
Cairo International Airport emerged as Africa's busiest airport for the month, handling 1.85 million scheduled departing seats, marking an 8.4% increase compared to the same period in 2025. Lagos Airport displayed the most significant year-on-year growth among the top 10 busiest airports, with capacity expanding by 25.6%, or an additional 98,400 seats.
The 10 largest carriers operating in Africa collectively managed 8.08 million scheduled departing seats in August 2026, equivalent to about 30% of the continent's total scheduled capacity of 27.3 million seats. Ethiopian Airlines led in terms of capacity, transporting 2.19 million passengers, which represented a 10.9% increase from 1.97 million seats in August 2025.
European airlines dominated Africa's international aviation market in August 2026, accounting for 10.8 million scheduled international seats, which constituted 50.35% of the continent's 21.5 million international seats. The Middle East followed with 4.93 million seats. Together, Europe and the Middle East accounted for approximately 15.75 million seats, making up more than 73% of Africa's international capacity.
International services comprised 21.5 million scheduled seats, representing 79% of Africa's total scheduled capacity, while domestic services contributed about 5.8 million seats, which increased by 11% year-on-year. Nigeria experienced the fastest growth among Africa's top 10 country aviation markets in August, with scheduled airline seat capacity rising by 37% year-on-year to 1.22 million seats, surpassing all other top 10 African markets in annual capacity growth.
South Africa retained its position as the continent's largest domestic aviation market, with 1.6 million scheduled seats.
Written by urgent.news from Nairametrics's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
