Africa’s air journey sector continues to point out regular development, pushed by rising demand for each enterprise and leisure journey throughout the continent.
Worldwide passenger demand climbed 5.3% in September 2025, with the load issue growing barely to 74.7%, in response to the newest figures launched by the Worldwide Air Transport Affiliation (IATA).
This displays a broader restoration in international aviation, with intra-African routes and common long-haul locations seeing significantly robust exercise.
Towards this backdrop, one-way departing seats knowledge from OAG.com gives a transparent snapshot of the continent’s busiest airports for October 2025. These figures spotlight the airports dealing with the very best volumes of outbound passengers, providing perception into regional and worldwide connectivity, airline hubs, and shifting patterns of air site visitors throughout Africa.
The rating emphasizes the function of key gateways that not solely serve home markets but additionally hyperlink Africa with Europe, the Center East, Asia, and the Americas. From North African hubs catering to European leisure travellers to main sub-Saharan airports connecting regional enterprise and tourism facilities, these airports replicate the various dynamics driving air journey on the continent.
The next record presents the highest 10 busiest airports in Africa by departing seats for October 2025, highlighting each passenger volumes and the infrastructure that helps their operations.
The Murtala Muhammed Worldwide Airport in Lagos ranked tenth among the many busiest airports in Africa by departing seats in October 2025, recording 409,005 seats, up from 369,191 in October 2024, a ten.8% year-on-year enhance. MMIA is Nigeria’s busiest airport and the primary worldwide gateway for the nation, connecting Lagos with locations throughout Africa, Europe, and North America.
In response to knowledge obtained by Nairametrics from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) underneath the Worldwide Civil Aviation Group (ICAO) State Profile framework, worldwide passenger site visitors at MMIA rose by 6.5% to 4.3 million in 2024, in comparison with 4.04 million in 2023. Worldwide cargo site visitors additionally elevated by 11.31% to 150 million kilograms, up from 135 million kilograms the earlier yr. Plane actions for worldwide flights grew by 7.69% in 2024, reaching 40,250 flights in comparison with 37,375 in 2023.
MMIA is the primary base for Nigeria’s largest airline, Air Peace, in addition to a number of different Nigerian carriers. The airport consists of a global terminal and a home terminal, positioned about one kilometre aside, each sharing the identical runways.
The Nigerian authorities authorized N712 billion for the airport’s improve, with work commencing in September 2025. The undertaking consists of rehabilitation of Terminal 1, enlargement of Terminal 2, improved highway entry, connection buildings linking terminals, and a short lived departure corridor to attenuate disruption throughout building.