While South Africa’s international airports rank among the top 20 African airports by origin and destination (O&D) numbers, traffic levels remain below pre-pandemic figures, according to Cirium’s Africa’s Skies in Focus report
For the year ending May 2024, Cairo International Airport (CAI) ranked as Africa’s busiest airport with nearly 23 million passengers, followed by Johannesburg (JNB) with nearly 15 million passengers and Cape Town (CPT) with less than 10 million passengers. Durban (DUR) placed 12th had less than five million passengers.
While most of Africa’s top 20 airports experienced positive O&D passenger growth, JNB, CPT and DUR were three of just four airports showing a decline in O&D passenger growth. CPT experienced an O&D passenger decline of about 10%, JNB’s was approximately 20% down and DUR experienced the greatest drop at an estimated 35%.
Despite this, South Africa was highlighted as a vital player in Africa’s aviation growth. Alongside Ethiopia, it has been recognised for efforts to bolster the sector through initiatives like the Single African Air Transport Market.
The report also noted Africa’s rapidly growing middle class as a key driver of air travel demand, positioning the continent for expansion in terms of new routes, aircraft technology and enhanced connectivity.
JNB ranked seventh for the number of destinations it served, following Cairo, Addis Ababa, Casablanca, Marrakesh, Amman and Algiers. The report found that JNB served about 80 destinations as of May 2024, competing with Algiers and just surpassing international competitors such as Portland, US, and Zagreb, Croatia, international airports.
“Despite this promising outlook, the African aviation industry faces several challenges that must be addressed to sustain growth. Infrastructure development remains a significant hurdle, as many airports require upgrades and expansions to accommodate the increasing volume of passengers and aircraft. To sustain this incredible growth, capacity will need to grow to support the ever-increasing demand,” says the report.
