Africa’s top 10 airlines operate 8.08m seats as Nigeria’s Air Peace..

Africa’s 10 largest airlines operated 8.08 million scheduled departing seats in August 2026, accounting for about 30 per cent of the continent’s 27.3 million total scheduled seats, even as Nigeria’s Air Peace slipped out of the top 10 following increased competition from other carriers.

The figures, derived from OAG’s August 2026 aviation data for Africa, show that the continent’s airline capacity remains concentrated among a relatively small group of major operators, while overall scheduled capacity increased 8.4 per cent year-on-year.

Ethiopian Airlines maintained its position as Africa’s largest carrier by scheduled capacity, with 2.19 million departing seats, up 10.9 per cent from 1.97 million seats in August 2025.

Safair ranked second with 984,700 seats, although its capacity declined 1.1 per cent year-on-year from 995,900 seats.

EgyptAir followed with 922,600 seats, an 8.1 per cent increase from 853,200 seats a year earlier.

Royal Air Maroc recorded 868,100 seats, representing 13.2 per cent growth, while Air Algerie posted the strongest year-on-year increase among the top 10, with capacity rising 16.8 per cent to 825,900 seats.

Airlink recorded 560,700 seats, up 6.5 per cent, while Ryanair’s capacity rose 7.5 per cent to 506,100 seats.

Emirates operated 430,200 seats, up 6.4 per cent, while Transavia.com France recorded 419,300 seats, representing 10.4 per cent growth.

Kenya Airways re-entered the top 10 with 373,700 seats, despite a 1.7 per cent decline from 380,300 seats a year earlier.

Its return to the ranking pushed Air Peace out of the top 10, after the Nigerian carrier occupied the 10th position in July.

The shift comes as Nigeria’s aviation market continues to expand rapidly. The country recorded the fastest growth among Africa’s 10 largest country aviation markets in August, with scheduled seat capacity rising 37 per cent year-on-year to 1.22 million seats.

Nigeria added approximately 330,700 seats compared with August 2025.

The domestic market was the main driver of the increase, with scheduled domestic capacity rising 42.6 per cent to 907,600 seats, representing an additional 271,000 seats year-on-year.

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

South Africa retained its position as the continent’s largest domestic aviation market, with 1.6 million scheduled seats.

Beyond individual airlines, Europe remained the dominant international market for African carriers.

Africa recorded 21.5 million scheduled international seats in August, of which 10.8 million were linked to Europe, representing 50.35 per cent of international capacity.

Europe’s capacity from Africa increased 6.6 per cent year-on-year.

The Middle East was the second-largest international market, accounting for 4.93 million seats, or 22.9 per cent of Africa’s international capacity, after an 8.1 per cent annual increase.

Together, Europe and the Middle East accounted for about 15.75 million seats, representing more than 73 per cent of Africa’s international aviation capacity.

Intra-African international services accounted for 4.53 million seats, despite growing 10 per cent year-on-year, while Asia-Pacific and the Americas accounted for 700,000 and 520,000 seats respectively.

International services represented 79 per cent of Africa’s total scheduled capacity, while domestic services accounted for about 5.8 million seats and increased 11 per cent year-on-year.

At airport level, Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos recorded the strongest growth among Africa’s 10 busiest airports, with scheduled capacity rising 25.6 per cent year-on-year.

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

For Nigeria, the latest figures present a mixed picture: the country’s aviation market is expanding rapidly, but Air Peace’s exit from Africa’s top 10 by capacity highlights the intensity of competition as international and regional carriers expand across the continent.