2 September 2026

African Carriers Record 5.2% Passenger Demand Growth in July

Why this article matters
African airlines remained among the stronger-performing regions for passenger demand in July, with international traffic growing at the second-fastest rate recorded by IATA. However, capacity increased more quickly than demand during the month, resulting in lower passenger load factors across both total and international traffic.

The year-to-date figures present a stronger underlying position, with passenger demand growth continuing to outpace capacity growth and load factors remaining above their 2025 levels. This makes July’s capacity-demand imbalance a notable monthly development against the broader performance recorded by African carriers so far in 2026.

Of Interest
- African carriers increased revenue passenger kilometres by 5.2 per cent year on year in July 2026, on a 7.3 per cent increase in available seat kilometres.
- The African passenger load factor fell by 1.5 percentage points to 75.1 per cent in July.
- On international services African airlines recorded 6.4 per cent traffic growth, the second-fastest rate among the six regions, against a 9.0 per cent capacity increase and a load factor of 74.1 per cent.
- Over the year-to-date African carriers have grown traffic by 7.4 per cent against 6.0 per cent capacity growth, lifting the load factor 1.0 percentage point to 75.8 per cent.
- Global revenue passenger kilometres reached 892 billion in July, up 0.2 per cent year on year, with an industry load factor of 85.2 per cent.
- African airlines accounted for 2.2 per cent of industry revenue passenger kilometres in 2025, of which 1.9 percentage points was international traffic.

African carriers recorded 5.2% year-on-year growth in passenger demand in July 2026, while capacity increased at a faster rate, according to IATA’s latest Air Passenger Market Analysis.

Capacity among African carriers increased by 7.3% year-on-year during the month. With capacity growth outpacing demand, the passenger load factor fell by 1.5 percentage points to 75.1%.

International traffic recorded a higher rate of growth. Revenue passenger kilometres for African airlines increased by 6.4% year-on-year, the second-fastest rate among the regions covered by IATA. International capacity increased by 9.0%, reducing the passenger load factor by 1.8 percentage points to 74.1%, the lowest among the regions.

For the year to date, total African passenger demand increased by 7.4%, while capacity grew by 6.0%. The passenger load factor stood at 75.8%, one percentage point higher than during the corresponding period in 2025.

International year-to-date performance showed passenger demand among African carriers up 8.9%, compared with a 6.8% increase in capacity. The international passenger load factor reached 75.8%, an increase of 1.5 percentage points year-on-year.

Globally, passenger traffic returned to growth in July following three consecutive months of contraction. Industry-wide revenue passenger kilometres increased by 0.2% year-on-year, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres, rose by 0.3%. The global passenger load factor declined by 0.1 percentage points to 85.2%.

Traffic growth strengthened across most regions during July, with Middle Eastern and North American carriers the exceptions. Latin American and Caribbean airlines recorded the highest regional demand growth at 6.1%, followed by African carriers at 5.2%.

IATA notes that airline traffic in its regional statistics is allocated according to the region in which the carrier is registered and should not be considered regional traffic. The figures are based on a constant sample of airlines combining reported data with estimates for missing observations.

The July 2026 Air Passenger Market Analysis was published by IATA Sustainability & Economics on 31 August 2026. You can read it here: