African Airlines Buck Global Slowdown With 8.9% Surge in Passenger Demand

June 30 () — African airlines recorded an 8.9 percent year-on-year increase in international passenger demand in May 2026, outperforming most global regions despite a broader slowdown in global air travel triggered by the conflict in the Middle East.

The figures, contained in the latest report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), showed that African carriers also expanded capacity by 8.3 percent during the period, while the region’s average passenger load factor improved by 0.4 percentage points to 73.4 percent.

The strong performance came as global passenger demand declined by 2.2 percent year-on-year.

However, excluding the Middle East, worldwide demand would have increased by 0.7 percent, highlighting continued resilience in international travel across most regions.

According to IATA, Africa ranked among the fastest-growing aviation markets globally during the month.

“African airlines saw an 8.9 percent year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 8.3 percent year-on-year, while the load factor reached 73.4 percent, up 0.4 percentage points from May 2025,” the association said.

Despite the growth, Africa continued to record the lowest passenger load factor among all global regions, suggesting airlines still have room to improve seat occupancy as travel demand strengthens.

Globally, international passenger demand declined by 1.6 percent year-on-year, but would have risen by 3.1 percent without the sharp downturn in Middle Eastern markets.

Total international capacity fell by 2.4 percent, while the global international load factor climbed to a record 83.7 percent for May.

IATA Director General Willie Walsh attributed the global decline largely to disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict, where passenger demand plunged 28.4 percent during the month.

He noted, however, that the improvement from April’s 46.6 percent decline demonstrated the aviation sector’s resilience despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Regionally, Latin America led global growth with a 10.5 percent increase in passenger demand, followed by Africa at 8.9 percent and Europe at 3.8 percent.

Asia-Pacific and North America posted modest gains, while Middle Eastern carriers remained the weakest performers.

The report comes as Africa’s aviation industry continues to expand. Recent industry data shows Nigeria recorded the fastest seat-capacity growth among the continent’s 10 largest aviation markets, while Egypt remains Africa’s biggest market by total airline seats and Ethiopian Airlines retains its position as the continent’s largest airline by scheduled seat capacity.