By Chinelo Obogo
The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has released its July 2025 industry report which shows that, despite ranking sixth among countries for overall seat volumes, no Nigerian airport made the top 10 ranking for highest seat sales.
According to the report, which was presented during AFRAA’s Industrial Affairs Briefing held virtually on Wednesday, where industry stakeholders reviewed performance metrics, Nigeria ranked sixth among African nations with the highest number of airline seats sold in July 2025. South Africa emerged as the clear leader in terms of total seats sold by country, followed by Egypt and Morocco in the top three positions. The complete ranking shows Ethiopia in fourth place, Kenya fifth and Nigeria sixth, followed by Algeria, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Ghana. But despite Nigeria’s position in the country rankings, none of its airports made the top 10 list for African airports with the highest seat sales.
At the airport level, Cairo International Airport claimed the top spot for highest seat sales, with South Africa’s O.R. Tambo International Airport and Cape Town following closely behind. Other major hubs in the top rankings included Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (Ethiopia), Mohammed V International Airport, Casablanca (Morocco), Marrakech Menara Airport (Morocco), Hurghada International Airport (Egypt), Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi (Kenya), Algiers Houari Boumediene Airport (Algeria) and Tunis-Carthage International Airport (Tunisia). The absence of Nigerian airports from the top 10 list raises concerns about the country’s aviation competitiveness, despite its large population. It may also be seen as an anomaly given that Nigeria ranked sixth among countries for total seat sales.
The report also showed that African airlines recorded a 5% increase in the number of seats sold in July 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. The factors that contributed to this growth include network expansion, new route launches, and aircraft upsizing.
However, challenges such as route cancellations, downsizing, and network attrition negatively impacted some carriers.
It highlighted traffic share disparities between African and non-African carriers. Despite the five percent growth in July 2025 when compared to July 2024, African carriers continue to face stiff competition from international airlines for market share. The AFRAA data revealed that African carriers held just 49.9% of international traffic share in May 2025, while non-African carriers took 50.1% of the market.
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