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

African airlines experienced a 8.3% year-on-year growth in international passenger capacity during August 2026, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This growth was faster than airlines in other regions, as reported in IATA's global passenger market data for the month. While international passenger demand in Africa also rose by 6.7%, it lagged behind the capacity expansion.

The passenger load factor for African airlines was 78.4%, a 1.2 percentage-point decrease from the previous August. Other regional markets saw mixed trends, with Latin American airlines increasing demand by 6.7% and capacity by 6.4%, European airlines growing demand by 2.1% and capacity by 2.8%, and Asia-Pacific airlines seeing a 0.1% decline in both demand and capacity.

North American airlines experienced a 1.7% decrease in demand and 1.1% decline in capacity. Middle Eastern airlines faced a significant decline in demand (-14.2%) and capacity (-9.0%). Globally, passenger demand fell by 0.8% year-on-year, while capacity increased by 0.3%, reducing the global load factor by 0.9 percentage points to 85.1%.

Excluding Middle Eastern carriers, international demand grew by 1.3%. African airlines' strong performance suggests that despite varying demand, they continue to expand capacity, as seen in Nigeria's significant growth and Egypt remaining Africa's largest market. Forward schedules indicate a 2.0% increase in available seats for October.