Nigeria’s scheduled domestic airline capacity declined to 978,000 seats in November 2026, falling below the 1 million-seat milestone recorded in October despite maintaining strong year-on-year growth.
This is according to OAG’s Africa’s Aviation Market: Monthly Airline Data Updates, November 2026 edition.
The latest figure represents a 29.1% increase from approximately 757,400 seats in November 2025, but a reduction of about 22,000 seats from October’s level.
Nigeria recorded a 25.3% year-on-year increase in total scheduled airline capacity to 1.296 million seats in November 2026, up from 1.035 million a year earlier.
The country added approximately 261,800 seats during the period, recording the fastest growth rate among Africa’s 10 largest aviation markets.
Within Nigeria, domestic capacity fell from approximately 1 million seats in October to 978,000 in November, a month-on-month reduction of about 22,000 seats. However, compared with November 2025, capacity increased by 220,600 seats, representing year-on-year growth of 29.1%.
South Africa remained Africa’s largest domestic aviation market, with about 1.6 million seats, although its capacity declined by 3.8% year-on-year. Nigeria’s domestic growth also exceeded Egypt’s 18.4% increase and Congo’s 26% growth.
Across the continent, total scheduled airline capacity increased by 6.3% year-on-year to 25.2 million seats in November 2026, reflecting growth in both international and domestic services.
Europe remained the largest international destination market for African airlines, with 9.7 million seats, followed by the Middle East with 4.35 million and intra-African routes with 4.16 million.
Nigeria’s expansion in scheduled airline seats comes as the aviation system continues to face congestion and flight delays. OAG has previously attributed the country’s capacity growth to currency reforms, a new aircraft leasing agreement and increased confidence among airlines operating in Nigeria.
Olawuyi also called for delay statistics to distinguish between disruptions within airlines’ control and those caused by airports, weather or other external factors.
