Cairo and Johannesburg maintain lead as Africa's busiest aviation hubs this March

Cairo International Airport has maintained its position as the busiest aviation hub on the continent for March 2026, recording 1.7 million scheduled seats. Data from the latest industry tracking indicates a 10.2 percent increase in capacity for the Egyptian gateway compared to the same period last year. This growth mirrors a broader upward trend across the regional aviation sector, where total seat capacity reached 24.8 million this month.

South Africa continues to hold a dominant share of the market, with O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg following Cairo as the second busiest facility. Cape Town International Airport occupies the third position, supported by a robust domestic market that currently accounts for 1.8 million seats across the country. The figures highlight a 10.4 percent year-on-year rise in overall airline capacity throughout Africa, driven by a mix of international transit and expanding domestic routes.

In East Africa, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi remains a central fixture in the rankings, placing seventh. The airport recorded 516,297 seats for March 2026, representing an 8.7 percent increase from the 475,030 seats seen in March 2025. This growth comes at a time when the Kenya Airports Authority is moving forward with the JKIA Integrated Master Plan, which includes a proposed new terminal complex designed to handle up to 15 million passengers annually to alleviate current congestion.

Morocco has also shown significant movement in the top ten, with Marrakech Menara Airport and Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca taking the fifth and sixth spots, respectively. Marrakech saw a 12.3 percent variance in capacity, while Casablanca grew by 19.5 percent, reaching 591,343 seats. These North African hubs are increasingly serving as vital links for traffic moving between West Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, the primary base for Ethiopian Airlines, remains the fourth busiest hub. The airport continues to serve as a critical transit point for long-haul flights connecting Africa to Asia and the Middle East. While many major carriers are expanding, the data noted a slight reduction in capacity for Kenya Airways, which saw a 1.3 percent decline, or roughly 4,900 fewer seats, even as the regional market grew.

Other airports making the March list include Algiers’ Houari Boumediene Airport at eighth and Egypt’s Hurghada International Airport at ninth. Hurghada recorded one of the strongest growth rates in the top tier, with capacity jumping 16.8 percent to 509,452 seats. Rounding out the top ten is Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, which remains the primary gateway for the West African region despite the rapid rise of North African hubs.

The expansion of low-cost carriers has contributed to these figures, with their capacity increasing by 10.1 percent to 5.2 million seats across the continent. However, mainline carriers still dictate the bulk of the market, representing 79 percent of all available seats. For policymakers and infrastructure developers, the sustained growth in seat numbers puts additional pressure on terminal facilities that, in many cities, are already operating near or beyond their original design limits.