African airlines recorded a 4.7 per cent year-on-year increase in air cargo demand in September 2026, despite a 1.2 per cent contraction in available capacity, as the continent accounted for 2.1 per cent of the global air cargo market, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
IATA’s September 2026 Air Cargo Market Analysis, released on October 29, showed that cargo demand across African carriers expanded during the month, while available cargo capacity declined, indicating that traffic growth outpaced the supply of cargo space.
The performance placed Africa among the regions that recorded growth in September, although its contribution to the global market remained relatively small compared with other regions.
Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest share of global air cargo traffic at 35.8 per cent in 2025, followed by North America with 24.6 per cent and Europe with 21.4 per cent.
The Middle East accounted for 13.2 per cent, while Latin America and the Caribbean represented 2.9 per cent.
The African market’s 2.1 per cent share was the smallest among the six regions covered by the report.
The decline in African cargo capacity contrasted with developments in other regions. While African airlines reduced available capacity by 1.2 per cent year-on-year, Asia-Pacific carriers expanded capacity by 4.9 per cent, Middle Eastern airlines by 7.0 per cent and Latin American and Caribbean carriers by 7.6 per cent.
North American airlines increased capacity by 0.8 per cent, while European carriers recorded a 1.6 per cent contraction.
The stronger growth in demand relative to available capacity improved Africa’s cargo load factor by 2.7 percentage points to 47.0 per cent in September, suggesting that a larger proportion of available cargo space was utilised during the period.
Across the global market, air cargo demand increased by 7.7 per cent year-on-year, accelerating from 4.4 per cent in August. Available capacity grew by 2.7 per cent, lifting the industry’s cargo load factor by 2.2 percentage points to 47.9 per cent.
International air cargo demand also strengthened, rising by 8.6 per cent globally compared with 5.5 per cent in August.
For African carriers, international cargo demand increased by 4.7 per cent in September, following a contraction in August.
IATA noted that the previous month’s year-on-year growth figure for African international cargo traffic was revised from 3.0 per cent to a contraction of 1.1 per cent.
The improvement came amid stronger global manufacturing and trade activity. The Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers’ Index increased by 0.7 points to 53.8 in August, while the New Export Orders Index rose by 0.5 points to 51.9. Both indicators reached their highest levels in more than five years.
Global trade also increased by 3.6 per cent year-on-year in August, extending its expansion streak to 42 consecutive months.
However, rising aviation fuel costs remained a major challenge for the air cargo industry. Jet fuel prices increased by 17.5 per cent month-on-month in September and were 103.4 per cent higher than their level a year earlier.
