African airlines recorded a three per cent year-on-year increase in air cargo demand in August 2026, just as capacity expanded by 14 per cent, a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said.
The growth was the highest recorded by any region globally during the month under review, the IATA report said.
According to IATA, Africa accounted for 2.1 per cent of the global air cargo market in August 2026.
The 14 per cent increase in capacity outpaced the three per cent growth in demand, indicating that African carriers added substantially more cargo capacity than the growth in traffic recorded during the period.
IATA said that globally, air cargo demand increased by 4.4 per cent year-on-year in August, while capacity declined marginally by 0.1 per cent.
Demand for international air cargo globally grew by 5.3 per cent during the period.
Commenting on the development, IATA’s Senior Vice President, Sustainability and Chief Economist, Marie Thomsen, said strong demand and higher load factors were helping airlines offset some of the impact of elevated fuel costs.
She said: “Air cargo demand rose 4.4 per cent year-on-year in August, with all regions reporting growth even as capacity was trimmed by 0.1 per cent.
“Strong demand and higher load factors helped airlines to recoup some of the exceptionally high fuel costs. Yields rose month-on-month for the first time since April, while global goods trade growth continues. Both are positive signs as the year-end peak season comes into view.”
Besides, an IATA report indicated that global trade increased by six per cent year-on-year in July, extending the run of consecutive monthly expansions to 33 months.
The association also noted that jet fuel prices increased by 8.3 per cent month-on-month in August and were 79.2 per cent higher than a year earlier.
Global manufacturing activity also strengthened during the month. The Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose by 0.3 points to 53.0, while the New Export Orders Index increased by 1.4 points to 51.4.
IATA said both indicators remained supportive of air cargo demand.
Across other regions, North American airlines recorded the strongest growth in air cargo demand, at 6.6 per cent, although their capacity declined by 2.5 per cent.
Latin American and Caribbean carriers recorded 5.1 per cent demand growth, with capacity rising by 3.3 per cent.
Asia-Pacific airlines recorded 4.3 per cent demand growth and a 1.2 per cent increase in capacity, while European carriers recorded 4.1 per cent demand growth against a 3.5 per cent decline in capacity.
Middle Eastern carriers recorded the weakest demand growth, at one per cent, while their capacity increased by 3.3 per cent.
IATA said air cargo performance across major trade lanes was mixed in August, with Asia-North America recording the strongest growth, followed by intra-Asia, Europe-North America and Europe-Asia routes.
However, Gulf-linked corridors remained disrupted by the conflict in the Middle East.
Besides, in the passenger market, African airlines recorded a 6.7 per cent year-on-year increase in international passenger demand in August 2026, while capacity rose by 8.3 per cent.
The region’s passenger load factor stood at 78.4 per cent, representing a decline of 1.2 percentage points compared with August 2025.
African growth was higher than the global passenger demand trend, which declined by 0.8 per cent during the month.
International passenger demand globally fell by 0.9 per cent year-on-year, while domestic demand declined by 0.5 per cent.
Excluding Middle Eastern carriers, however, global passenger demand increased by 0.6 per cent.
Thomsen said the decline in global passenger demand was largely linked to the disruption of recovery among Middle Eastern carriers.
