Africa's aviation industry by numbers - the latest trends and data

Routesonline analyses the African aviation industry, taking a monthly look at the top routes served and revealing the airlines that are dominating the market. We also rank the top ten airports by available seat capacity and examine the most common aircraft used.

All data provided by OAG

Top African airline routes

Domestic routes in South Africa ranked at number one and two in July 2017, with Johannesburg O.r. Tambo International (JNB) to Cape Town (CPT) having the most available seats. The route is served by seven carriers, with South African Airways having the most available capacity.

https://infogram.com/africa_routes_july_2017

Top African airlines

Ethiopian Airlines topped the table for July 2017 with 1,124,252 available seats, up by 6.6 percent compared with June. Royal Air Maroc was the biggest month-on-month climber in the top ten airlines list with 44.5 percent growth.

https://infogram.com/africa_airlines_july_2017

Top African airports

Casablanca Mohammed V enjoyed the largest capacity growth in July 2017, up 34.3 percent compared with a month earlier. The rise comes after Royal Air Maroc increased its services to New York JFK and Sao Paulo Guarulhos, while EgyptAir also upped the frequency of its Cairo route.

https://infogram.com/africa_airports_july_2017

Most-used aircraft

Boeing 737's capacity share in Africa during July 2017 was 42.4 percent. Ethiopian Airlines has 25 in its fleet while South African Airways has 73.

https://infogram.com/africa_top_aircraft_july_2017


The full African aviation industry data

Top routes (July 2017):

Rank Route Jun-17 capacity Jul-17 capacity % capacity change
1 Johannesburg O.r. Tambo International (JNB) - Cape Town (CPT) 488693 505396 3.4%
2 Johannesburg O.r. Tambo International (JNB) - Durban King Shaka International 334549 336009 0.4%
3 Jeddah (JED) - Cairo International (CAI) 350720 293382 -16.3%
4 Lagos (LOS) - Abuja (ABV) 154912 160440 3.6%
5 Cairo International (CAI) - Riyadh King Khalid Intl (RUH) 126468 152278 20.4%
6 Johannesburg Lanseria International (HLA) - Cape Town (CPT) 136726 142292 4.1%
7 Kuwait (KWI) - Cairo International (CAI) 124666 136521 9.5%
8 Durban King Shaka International (DUR) - Cape Town (CPT) 120697 123448 2.3%
9 Algiers (ALG) - Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) 83832 119964 43.1%
10 Port Elizabeth (PLZ) - Johannesburg O.r. Tambo International (JNB) 110501 118358 7.1%

Top airlines (July 2017):

Rank Airline Jun-17 capacity Jul-17 capacity % monthly change
1 Ethiopian Airlines 1055124 1124252 6.6%
2 South African Airways 1050900 1086795 3.4%
3 Royal Air Maroc 546533 789594 44.5%
4 Egyptair 683413 699413 2.3%
5 Air Algerie 630640 690458 9.5%
6 Kenya Airways 468571 489361 4.4%
7 British Airways 367261 373668 1.7%
8 Emirates 356724 373056 4.6%
9 Comair 336420 342468 1.8%
10 Air France 282873 327089 15.6%

Top airports (July 2017):

Rank Airport Jun-17 capacity Jul-17 capacity % monthly change
1 Johannesburg O.r. Tambo Int 1188790 1234068 3.8%
2 Cairo International 1073938 1103600 2.8%
3 Casablanca Mohammed V 484289 650531 34.3%
4 Addis Ababa 607746 642734 5.8%
5 Algiers 503208 561899 11.7%
6 Cape Town 527389 550099 4.3%
7 Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International 441438 474107 7.4%
8 Tunis 307548 372594 21.1%
9 Lagos 357080 370662 3.8%
10 Durban King Shaka International 306971 311535 1.5%
David Casey

David Casey is Editor in Chief of Routes, the global route development community's trusted source for news and information.