Nigeria Ranked Africa’s Fifth Largest Airline in Africa
Nigeria Ranked Africa’s Fifth Largest Airline in Africa
In December 2025, Nigeria secured its position as Africa’s fifth-largest aviation market, providing a combined total of 1.16 million scheduled seats for both local and global travelers.
This volume of capacity saw Nigeria trailing behind other major continental players, specifically Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, and Ethiopia, for the duration of the month.
These statistics were sourced from the latest African market figures released by the OAG Monthly Airline Data Updates.
Analysis from the OAG revealed a 3.7% annual dip in Nigeria’s flight capacity, which fell from roughly 1.20 million seats in December 2024 to the current 1.16 million.
Notably, Nigeria was the sole nation among the continent’s top ten aviation hubs to experience a shrinkage in seat availability during this timeframe.
Despite this downturn, the country successfully held onto its fifth-place standing, underscoring the substantial scale of its air transport sector.
In opposition to Nigeria’s trend, other top African markets saw significant growth in December 2025. Egypt solidified its lead with approximately 2.98 million seats, while South Africa followed in second place with 2.60 million.
Morocco emerged as a top performer with a robust capacity surge of more than 13%, reaching over 2.03 million seats, while Ethiopia continued its upward trajectory with 1.38 million seats.
The remaining top-tier markets—Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Mauritius—also saw improvements, signaling a general recovery and expansion in African air travel.
Tanzania led this group in growth velocity, achieving a year-on-year increase exceeding 20%.
