January 06, (THEWILL) — Nigeria’s Air Peace has emerged as the fastest-growing airline in Africa by seat capacity, according to data from OAG’s Monthly Airline Data Updates for the African market analysed for December 2025.
The report shows that Air Peace recorded a remarkable 53.4 percent year-on-year increase in seat capacity, the highest growth rate among leading airlines operating on the continent during the period under review.
Data indicate that the airline expanded its available seats from 285,470 in December 2024 to 437,974 in December 2025, representing the strongest capacity expansion among Africa’s top carriers, despite Air Peace ranking behind several larger airlines in overall seat numbers.
According to OAG, Air Peace led all African airlines in terms of growth rate in December 2025, reflecting a sustained expansion of its network and operational footprint.
After Air Peace, Ryanair recorded the second-highest growth in African seat capacity, increasing supply by 24.4 percent, from 332,295 seats in December 2024 to 413,411 seats in December 2025.
Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier by seat volume, posted a 14.1 percent increase, growing from 1,701,244 seats to 1,940,328 seats, thereby maintaining its position as the continent’s biggest airline by capacity.
North African carriers also delivered solid performance. Royal Air Maroc expanded its capacity by 7.6 percent, rising from 574,352 to 618,003 seats, while Air Algérie increased seats by 6.7 percent, from 577,811 to 616,635.
Meanwhile, EgyptAir recorded moderate growth of 4.0 percent, expanding from 792,199 seats to 823,910 seats.
At the lower end of the growth scale, FlySafair remained largely stable, posting a marginal 0.4 percent increase, from 934,044 seats in December 2024 to 937,746 seats in December 2025.
Emirates, the only non-African airline in the top ten, expanded its African capacity by 9.4 percent, growing from 357,888 to 391,585 seats, reflecting continued international expansion into African markets.
In contrast, Kenya Airways slightly reduced its seat capacity by 1.3 percent, declining from 431,000 to 425,559 seats, while Airlink recorded the steepest reduction, cutting capacity by 10.0 percent, from 482,637 seats to 434,213 seats.
In absolute terms, Ethiopian Airlines ranked first in Africa in December 2025 with 1,940,328 seats, up from 1,701,244 a year earlier.
FlySafair placed second with 937,746 seats, largely unchanged from 934,044.
EgyptAir ranked third with 823,910 seats, followed by Royal Air Maroc in fourth place with 618,003 seats, while Air Algérie ranked fifth at 616,635 seats.
Air Peace placed sixth, recording a sharp rise to 437,974 seats, up from 285,470.
Airlink followed in seventh with 434,213 seats, down from 482,637, while Kenya Airways ranked eighth at 425,559 seats.
Ryanair ranked ninth with 413,411 seats, an increase from 332,295, while Emirates completed the top ten with 391,585 seats, up from 357,888.
At the country level, Nigeria ranked as Africa’s fifth-largest airline market in December 2025, with 1.16 million scheduled passenger seats, covering both domestic and international services. This represented a 3.7 percent decline from approximately 1.20 million seats in December 2024, making Nigeria the only top-ten African market to record a contraction during the period, although it retained its fifth-place ranking.
Other major African markets recorded growth. Egypt led with 2.98 million seats, followed by South Africa with 2.60 million seats. Morocco expanded by over 13 per cent to 2.03 million seats, while Ethiopia maintained steady growth at 1.38 million seats.
Other top-ten markets — including Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia and Mauritius — also posted increases, with Tanzania recording the fastest growth at over 20 percent.
On the domestic front, Nigeria ranked second with 850,420 seats, down 7.5 percent from 919,400 seats in December 2024.
South Africa remained the continent’s largest domestic market with 1,803,097 seats, followed by Kenya at 456,500 seats and Tanzania at 415,130 seats.
In North Africa, domestic capacity rose in Egypt to 391,736 seats, Algeria to 388,731 seats, and Morocco to 240,499 seats.
Cape Verde recorded the fastest domestic growth, increasing from 69,493 to 92,924 seats, while some markets contracted, including Ethiopia (from 401,972 to 389,562 seats) and the Democratic Republic of Congo, which declined from 142,201 to 101,598 seats.
Anthony Awunor, is a business correspondent who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Linguistics (UNILAG). He is also an alumnus of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria Kaduna State. He lives in Lagos.
