African airlines show resilience with 34.7% surge in traffic, yet global share remains just 2.1%

African airlines have achieved a 34.7% surge in passenger traffic over the past year, displaying remarkable resilience against the odds, yet their global share still remains modest at 2.1%.
African airlines have even outpaced their counterparts in Europe, the Middle East, and across the globe in terms of total passenger traffic for the month of June 2023, according to recent data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). This impressive growth has secured the African airlines the second-highest position in terms of percentage gains in 2023, with Asia-Pacific carriers taking the lead with a striking 128.1% year-to-year surge in traffic in June 2023. With 34.7% increase in traffic, the African airlines surpassed European carriers that demonstrated 14% increase in traffic, followed by Middle Eastern airlines with 29.2% rise in traffic.
But this surge, although impressive, underscores the continued challenges faced by African airlines, as their global passenger market share remains modest at just above 2%. The IATA’s study lists the main challenges facing the regional carriers, most notably in the supply chain, including aircraft delivery delays and spare part shortages, which hinder airlines from fully capitalizing on the rising demand. The resilience of the African aviation industry becomes even more evident when juxtaposed against a unique setback: despite the overall rise in international load factors, Africa experienced a dip of 5.1% in June. Europe, on the other hand, continued to dominate the global passenger share with an unyielding 30.8%, closely followed by North America with a 28.8% share.