African Airlines Archives - Aviation metric

Berthe: African Airlines struggle with minimal profit margins amid rapid passenger growth

Posted on September 15, 2026September 15, 2026 by Wole Shadare

African airlines are expected to transport 137.3 million passengers by 2026, marking a significant 21.5% increase from the previous year. Despite this surge in demand, the industry’s profit margins remain critically low at just 0.2%, one of the thinnest globally. This paradox between rising passenger numbers and negligible profitability was a central focus at the recent African media roundtable held at Nairobi’s Sarit Expo Centre, themed “Resilient African Aviation: Partnerships, Empowerment, Profitability.” Africa’s demographic and…

African airlines trapped in uncomfortable expansion cycle

Posted on August 25, 2026August 30, 2026 by Wole Shadare

African carriers cannot achieve viable economies of scale without massive fleet modernisation and cross-border expansion, yet they cannot afford aircraft or open skies without the very scale they lack, writes WOLE SHADARE For decades, the tarmac of African aviation has been littered with the ghosts of ambitious carriers that soared high, burned through capital furiously, and vanished into thin air. From the historic demise of multinational icons like Air Afrique to the perennial reorganisations of national…

African airlines’ traffic rose 10.3% in 2025, scrambled to accommodate demand

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Wole Shadare

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that December 2025 traffic for African airlines rose 10.3% over December 2024, while the continent’s airlines’ annual traffic rose 7.8% in 2025 versus the prior year. The region finished 2025 with the fastest growth rate and highest load factor of any region. December 2025 traffic rose 7.5% compared to December 2024. It stated this in its 2025 full-year and December 2025 passenger market performance reports, which showed record-high demand. Other…

African airlines saw15.6% rise in demand for air cargo in November 2025 – IATA

Posted on January 8, 2026January 8, 2026 by Wole Shadare

According to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), African airlines recorded a 15.6% year-on-year (YoY) increase in air cargo demand for November 2025. This performance made Africa the fastest-growing region in the global air cargo market for that month. Africa’s 15.6% growth rate significantly outpaced the global average of 5.5%.To meet this surging demand, African carriers increased their capacity (Available Cargo Tonne-Kilometres) by 18.1% YoY. The surge was largely driven by…

African airlines at crossroads, 80% of routes unserved-IATA

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Wole Shadare

Carriers fragmented, infrastructure underdeveloped, high costs amid potential SAATM implementation progress slow Lauds Ethiopia, Rwanda for making aviation central to development The Vice-President for Africa and the Middle East of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Kamil Al Awahdi, has painted a not too pleasant picture of the precarious state of the continent’s airlines amid potential. In his speech titled, “Airline Industry at a Crossroads: Globally, Regionally and Locally” at Africa Aviation 2025 conference taking…

African airlines cargo market dips 2.1%, 9.5% increase in travel demand

Posted on June 30, 2025June 30, 2025 by Wole Shadare

The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) latest analysis of demand and capacity in the global air cargo market, based on year-on-year comparative traffic and capacity data for May 2025 vs May 2024, saw a 2.1% year-on-year decrease in demand for air cargo for African airlines While African airlines saw a dip in air cargo traffic, the carriers increased their cargo capacity by 2.7% year-on-year, achieving a 42.2% Cargo Load Factor (percentage of capacity taken up…

African airlines record -13.4% drop in demand for air cargo in March 2025

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Wole Shadare

Slowest of all regions, says, IATA African airlines saw a -13.4% year-on-year decrease in demand for air cargo in March, the slowest among the regions. Capacity increased by 10.5% year-on-year. Demand for air cargo is a useful barometer of trade, with many high-value items transport by air, such as smart phones and IT equipment, automotive components, precious metals and gems, perishable food items and pharmaceuticals. E-commerce shipments and other courier items are also a growing…

IATA: African airlines record 6.7 per cent year-on-year increase in demand

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Wole Shadare

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for February 2025 global passenger demand for all the regions of the world. According to the statistics, African airlines saw a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 4.0% year-on-year. The load factor rose to 75.3% (+2.0 ppt compared to February 2024). “While traffic growth slowed in February, much of this can be explained by factors including the leap year, and lunar new year falling in January…

Costly operations impacting African airlines’ performance-AFRAA

Posted on November 12, 2024November 12, 2024 by Wole Shadare

The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) said its primary focus is to create a sustainable, interconnected and affordable African air transport industry. The AFRAA Secretary-General, Abderahmane Berthé highlighted the areas of action for the airline industry to address the high cost of operations that is impacting the performance of the continent’s airlines. He told Aviation Metric that while Africa’s aviation industry continues to perform strongly, with increased passenger traffic and improved operational efficiency with key drivers including expanded…

African airlines see 6.2 year-on-year rise in demand for air cargo transport in July

Posted on August 28, 2024August 28, 2024 by Wole Shadare

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has has released its July 2024 y-o-y analysis of the air cargo market (a very useful barometer of trade) based on capacity (supply) and traffic (demand). During the month in review, African airlines saw 6.2% year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in July, the lowest of all regions and their lowest recorded figure in 2024. Demand on the Africa–Asia market increased by 15.4% compared to July 2023, just as July…

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