Africa’s 10 Busiest Airports Handle 8.35 Million Seats in August

Africa’s 10 busiest airports recorded a combined 8.35 million scheduled departing seats in August 2026, according to data from OAG compiled by Nairametrics.

The figure represents about 30.6% of the 27.3 million scheduled seats available across the continent during the month. Africa’s total scheduled airline capacity increased by 8.4% compared with August 2025.

Cairo International Airport ranked as Africa’s busiest airport, with 1.85 million scheduled departing seats, an 8.4% increase year-on-year.

It was followed by:

1. Addis Ababa Bole International Airport – 1.25 million seats, up 8.4%.

2. O.R. Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg – 1.15 million seats, up 3.5%.

3. Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca – 800,000 seats, up 10.1%.

4. Houari Boumediene Airport, Algiers – 680,000 seats, up 7.2%.

5. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi – 570,000 seats, up 10.5%.

6. Cape Town International Airport – 560,000 seats, up 6.5%.

7. Tunis-Carthage International Airport – 530,000 seats, up 7.3%.

8. Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos – 480,000 seats.

9. Hurghada International Airport, Egypt – 480,000 seats.

Lagos recorded the strongest year-on-year growth among the continent’s 10 busiest airports, with capacity rising by 25.6%, equivalent to 98,400 additional scheduled seats compared with August 2025. Hurghada followed with an 18.6% increase.

Nigeria also recorded the fastest growth among Africa’s top 10 country aviation markets, with scheduled airline capacity increasing 37% year-on-year to 1.22 million seats in August.

Domestic capacity in Nigeria rose even faster, increasing 42.6% to 907,600 seats.

Across Africa, international flights accounted for 21.5 million scheduled seats, representing 79% of the continent’s total capacity, while domestic services contributed about 5.8 million seats, an 11% year-on-year increase.

Europe remained Africa’s largest international aviation market, accounting for 10.8 million scheduled international seats, followed by the Middle East with 4.93 million seats.

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