The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for July 2026 global passenger demand showing a 6.4% rise for air travel in Africa .
The figures are based on year-on-year traffic and capacity data provided reported by airlines in each region worldwide during July 2026 compared with the same month in 2025.
During July 2026, African airlinessaw a 6.4% rise in demand and a 9.0% expansion in capacity and Africa accounted for 2.2% of the total global market for passenger air travel in June 2026.
The peak Northern summer travel season is a mostly positive story for air travel. Overall growth of 0.2% in July was achieved despite year-on-year collective declines by carriers in North America and the Middle East. Notably, traffic through the Gulf hubs continues its recovery trajectory. Although high fuel costs, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions continue, carriers are expressing confidence in demand for the last part of the year with an almost 3% expansion of seat capacity in September,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability, and Chief Economist.
In other markets ,European carriers saw a 3.1% year-on-year increase in demand. with capacity rising by 3.2% year-on-year. Passenger traffic between Europe and Asia grew 12.1%, representing the strongest expansion of any major international corridor.
North American carrierssaw a decrease in demand of 2.3% year-on-year and their capacity decreased a similar 2.3% year-on-year . The key transatlantic corridor fell by 2.2%, with notable declines in traffic from UK, France, and Spain.
Middle Eastern carriers saw a 9.5% year-on-year decrease in demand and their capacity fell 5.8% year-on-year the lowest according to the latest data released. This could be attributed to the wars in the region .
