Nigeria Adds Africa's Second-Highest Airline Seat Capacity in September, Air Peace Returns to Continental Top 10

Nigeria added 322,800 scheduled airline seats in September 2026, taking its total capacity to 1.19 million and posting the fastest year-on-year growth rate among Africa's ten largest aviation markets, according to figures from aviation data provider OAG.

Nigeria's scheduled capacity rose 37.4 percent from 864,100 seats in September 2025, a rate of growth OAG said outpaced every other country market in its top-10 ranking. Only Egypt added more seats in absolute terms during the month, expanding by 364,800 seats to reach 3.08 million, while Nigeria ranked among Africa's five largest country markets by total scheduled capacity, behind Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, and Ethiopia. OAG attributed the growth to currency reforms, a new aircraft leasing agreement, and rising airline confidence in the Nigerian market, following a similar 37 percent year-on-year increase recorded in August. International services accounted for 79 percent of Nigeria's total capacity in the reported period, with domestic services up 11 percent year-on-year.

Air Peace Returns to Africa's Top 10

Among individual carriers, Air Peace recorded the fastest capacity growth of any airline in OAG's African top-10 ranking for September, with scheduled seats rising 54.7 percent year-on-year to 354,804, up from 229,412 a year earlier. The increase of roughly 125,400 seats returned the Nigerian carrier to the continental top 10 after it had dropped out of the ranking in August, edging out Air Cairo, which entered the list at ninth position with 360,502 seats. Ethiopian Airlines retained the top spot with more than 2 million scheduled seats.

Airlines serving African markets overall scheduled 25.8 million seats in September, up 9.4 percent year-on-year though below August's 27.3 million, with low-cost carriers recording 5.3 million seats, an 11.5 percent increase. OAG said the reshuffling among the top 10 airlines reflected shifting capacity deployment across the continent as several carriers, including Air Peace, expanded international and regional operations alongside domestic growth.