African airlines expanded their air cargo capacity by 14% year-on-year in August 2026, significantly outpacing the 3% growth in cargo demand across the region.
This is according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which released its global air cargo market data for August 2026.
The figures show that Africa recorded the highest cargo capacity growth among the regions tracked by IATA, while global air cargo demand also increased despite higher fuel costs.
The 14% increase in cargo capacity made Africa the region with the highest capacity growth among the markets tracked by IATA in August.
However, the increase in capacity was accompanied by a more modest 3% rise in cargo demand, meaning available capacity across African airlines expanded significantly faster than the volume of air freight being transported.
Total global air cargo demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), increased by 4.4% compared with August 2025, while international demand rose by 5.3%.
The Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers’ Index rose by 0.3 points to 53.0, while the New Export Orders Index increased by 1.4 points to 51.4.
African airlines recorded 1.1% year-on-year growth in air cargo demand in July 2026, while available cargo capacity increased by 4.1%, according to IATA’s previous monthly report.
The Africa-Asia corridor subsequently recorded an 11.9% year-on-year contraction in August, marking its third consecutive month of decline. The trade lane accounted for 1.3% of industry market share.
Nigeria’s air freight market is benefiting from some of the same trends supporting cargo activity across Africa, particularly the expansion of e-commerce and cross-border trade among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
He said greater digitisation of airport operations, lower logistics costs and improved warehousing infrastructure could help Nigeria capture more of the opportunities created by the growth in African air cargo.
