Ethiopian Airlines Tops Africa With 2.1 Million Seats in September

Ethiopian Airlines remained Africa’s largest carrier by scheduled seat capacity in September 2026, with more than 2.08 million seats scheduled across its network, according to aviation analytics firm OAG.

The airline recorded 2,087,386 scheduled seats during the month, a 10.0 percent increase from the 1,897,820 seats recorded in September 2025. The increase represents nearly 190,000 additional seats year on year.

Africa’s overall scheduled airline capacity reached 25.8 million seats in September, up 9.4 percent from the same month a year earlier. International capacity accounted for about 20 million seats, while domestic capacity reached 5.72 million, growing 11.6 percent year on year.

Ethiopian Airlines Maintains Wide Lead

Ethiopian Airlines remained well ahead of the continent’s other major carriers.

Safair ranked second with 1,076,166 scheduled seats, up 7.1 percent year on year, while Egyptair placed third with 890,773 seats, an increase of 6.7 percent.

Royal Air Maroc recorded 793,257 seats, up 19.2 percent, while Air Algerie reached 756,627 seats, representing 13.3 percent growth.

Air Peace posted the fastest growth among the leading carriers, increasing its scheduled capacity by 54.7 percent to 354,804 seats. Air Cairo also entered the top 10 with 360,502 seats, up 14.9 percent.

Addis Ababa Ranks Second Among African Airports

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport maintained its position as Africa’s second-largest airport by scheduled seat capacity.

The airport recorded approximately 1.19 million scheduled departing seats in September, representing 6.5 percent growth from September 2025.

Cairo International Airport ranked first with 1.79 million seats, followed by Addis Ababa and Johannesburg, which recorded 1.16 million seats.

The OAG figures measure scheduled airline capacity rather than actual passenger traffic. The ranking therefore reflects the scale of scheduled operations and available seats, rather than the number of passengers who actually travelled through each airport.

Ethiopia’s Aviation Market Expands

Ethiopia recorded 1.41 million scheduled seats in September, up 6.3 percent from approximately 1.32 million seats a year earlier.

Egypt remained Africa’s largest national aviation market with 3.08 million seats, followed by South Africa with 2.43 million and Morocco with 2.07 million.

Nigeria recorded the fastest growth among the continent’s 10 largest country markets, with scheduled capacity increasing 37.4 percent to 1.19 million seats.

Ethiopia’s aviation market continues to be closely tied to Ethiopian Airlines’ extensive international network and Addis Ababa’s role as a major connecting hub linking African destinations with Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

African Airline Capacity Continues to Grow

OAG’s September figures show continued expansion across the continent’s aviation market.

International scheduled capacity increased 8.9 percent year on year, while domestic capacity grew by 11.6 percent. Mainline carriers continued to account for around 80 percent of Africa’s total scheduled capacity.

The data puts Ethiopian Airlines’ continued expansion in the context of a broader growth in African aviation, while highlighting the scale of Addis Ababa’s role in the continent’s air transport network.

Source: OAG, September 2026 aviation capacity data.