Airlines serving Africa’s top 10 major aviation markets scheduled 13.89 million seats in September 2026, with all 10 markets recording year-on-year growth in scheduled capacity.
According to aviation data provider OAG’s Africa Aviation Market Monthly Airline Data Update for September 2026, the top 10 markets accounted for more than half of the 25.8 million seats scheduled across the African aviation market during the month.
The 13.89 million seats scheduled across the 10 markets represented an increase from the 12.51 million seats scheduled in September 2025, reflecting continued expansion in airline capacity across some of the continent’s largest aviation markets.
Egypt recorded the highest scheduled capacity among the 10 major African aviation markets, with airlines scheduling 3.08 million seats in September 2026, up from 2.72 million seats a year earlier. This represented an increase of 364,800 seats and year-on-year growth of 13.4%.
Ghana recorded 302,100 seats, up from 267,500 in September 2025, with scheduled capacity increasing by 34,600 seats or 12.9%. Overall, all 10 major African aviation markets recorded year-on-year growth in scheduled capacity in September.
Airlines serving African markets scheduled 25.8 million seats in September 2026, representing a 9.4% increase from the 23.5 million seats scheduled in September 2025, according to OAG.
OAG’s scheduled seat capacity measures the number of seats airlines make available for sale and provides an indication of the scale of their operations.
The ranking covers both African and international airlines serving the continent.
The data points to continued growth in scheduled airline capacity across the African aviation market despite the month-on-month decline from August.
The September ranking of airlines serving African markets was led by Ethiopian Airlines, which recorded 2.09 million scheduled seats, up 10% from 1.90 million seats in September 2025, according to OAG data.
Air Peace returned to the top 10 at number 10 after dropping out of the ranking in August. The Nigerian carrier recorded 354,804 scheduled seats, up 54.7% from 229,412 seats a year earlier, making it the fastest-growing airline in the September ranking.
