African airlines recorded the strongest growth in demand and capacity during March, although passenger load factors remained below the global average.
International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Air Passenger Market Analysis for March 2026 shows that African airlines led global passenger demand growth in March, while North American carriers posted the slowest expansion.
Passenger traffic demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), of African airlines increased by 20,6% year-on-year, well above the global industry average of 2,1%.
African passenger capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), rose by 10,3% year-on-year in March, compared with a global decline of 1,7%.
The passenger load factor of African carriers increased by 6,5 percentage points year-on-year to 76,2%. While this fell below the industry-wide average passenger load factor of 83,6%, this represented the largest percentage point increase in passenger load factor across all regions and set a record for the continent for the month of March.
International traffic on the rise
African airlines delivered the strongest performance in international traffic among all regions, with passenger demand rising by 19,2% year-on-year, in comparison with the global average 0,6% decrease.
March capacity increased by only 4,2% year-on-year, however this marks significant growth on the global international traffic average capacity decline of 6,2% year-on-year.
Africa’s international passenger load factor improved sharply, rising by almost 10 percentage points year-on-year to 77,7%. This still fell below the industry-wide average of 84,1%.
The conflict’s knock-on effect
Global passenger traffic grew by only 2,1% year-on-year in March, a sharp slowdown from the 6,1% increase in February and the weakest post‑pandemic growth to date. The moderation largely reflected disruptions to airline operations arising from the Middle East conflict, notes the report.
“The nearly 61% decline in international traffic by carriers in the Middle East did restrain global growth. Outside of the Middle East demand grew by 8%,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
African, Asia Pacific and European carriers registered stronger international traffic growth as passenger flows were diverted from Middle Eastern hub airports.
Fuel supply shortage
Walsh added that, while the current fuel constraints and resultant high airfares had not yet impacted March traffic, the rising price of travel might start shifting passenger behaviour in the coming months.
“Everybody’s watching what’s happening with jet fuel – both supply and pricing. On the supply side, over the next months we could see shortages in parts of the world with high dependence on supplies from the Gulf. And the extraordinarily high cost of jet fuel is increasingly being reflected in ticket prices,” warned Walsh.
“So far, the northern summer is shaping up to be a normally busy time for travel. That’s positive news, but airline resilience is being tested and stabilising the supply and price of fuel is crucial. In the meantime, it’s important for regulators to be prepared to grant airlines some flexibility on slots considering the extraordinary circumstances of airspace capacity restrictions and potential fuel rationing,” said Walsh.