African airlines recorded one of their strongest monthly performances in recent history in December 2025, with passenger traffic rising by 10.3 percent year on year. The surge highlights a sustained recovery in the region’s aviation sector and growing demand for air travel across the continent.
The figures are contained in the 2025 full-year and December passenger market performance report released by the International Air Transport Association. According to the report, the sharp increase was driven by seasonal holiday travel, improved air connectivity, and rising interest in both domestic and regional routes within Africa.
For the full year 2025, African airlines achieved a 7.8 percent increase in passenger demand compared to 2024. Over the same period, capacity expanded by 6.5 percent, indicating that demand growth outpaced the addition of available seats. This balance contributed to a notable improvement in efficiency across the region.
The load factor, which measures the percentage of available seats filled by passengers, rose by 0.9 percentage points to 74.9 percent. While this remains the lowest load factor among global regions, it represents a record high for Africa and the strongest year-on-year improvement recorded worldwide in 2025.
December 2025 stood out as the peak month for African carriers, delivering the largest monthly growth of the year. The performance reflects strong festive travel patterns and signals that recovery momentum has extended beyond post-pandemic rebound into more stable demand growth.
According to the report, “African airlines’ annual traffic rose 7.8% in 2025 versus the prior year. Full year 2025 capacity was up 6.5% and load factor climbed 0.9 percentage points to 74.9%. This was the lowest load factor among regions, but a record high for Africa and the strongest load factor increase of any region. December 2025 traffic for African airlines rose 10.3% over December 2024.”
Globally, air travel demand reached an all-time high in 2025. Total passenger traffic increased by 5.3 percent compared to 2024, while capacity rose by 5.2 percent. This pushed the global load factor to a record 83.6 percent for the full year.
International travel led global growth, with passenger demand up 7.1 percent and capacity rising 6.8 percent. Domestic travel grew at a slower pace of 2.4 percent, while the domestic load factor slipped slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 83.7 percent.
In December 2025 alone, global passenger demand rose 5.6 percent year on year, capacity increased by 5.9 percent, and the load factor reached 83.7 percent. The data underscores a strong finish to the year for the aviation industry, with Africa emerging as one of the standout regions in terms of growth momentum.
