• Africa’s air traffic projected to grow 9.4% year-on-year to 273 million passengers
• Region to post world’s fastest growth but still only 2.7% of global total
• Expansion driven by North African tourism and rising middle-class demand

Africa’s air passenger traffic is expected to reach 273 million travelers in 2025, representing 9.4% annual growth, according to the latest projections from Airports Council International (ACI). The increase will be driven by strong tourism in North Africa and growing demand from the continent’s expanding middle class.

Despite leading global growth rates, Africa will still account for only 2.7% of the projected 9.8 billion global passengers in 2025, up 3.7% year-on-year. The largest traffic volumes will be in the Asia-Pacific region, forecast at 3.6 billion passengers (+5.6%), with South and Southeast Asia leading the expansion.

Europe is expected to follow with over 2.5 billion passengers (+3.6%), ahead of North America with 2.1 billion. Latin America and the Caribbean are forecast at 789 million passengers (+4.1%), while the Middle East will record about 466 million (+5.9%).

These forecasts reflect continued post-Covid-19 recovery momentum. However, ACI warns that uncertainties persist in major aviation markets such as East Asia, Europe, and North America, where demographic shifts (aging populations) and changing traveler behavior—including evolving visa and travel policies—pose challenges.

Emerging aviation markets like Africa are expected to sustain long-term growth. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the continent’s passenger traffic is projected to rise by an average of 4.1% annually over the next two decades.

Still, African airlines’ share of total traffic remains limited. The African Airlines Association (AFRAA) reports that they carried about 98 million passengers in 2024.