Out of the 26 federal government-owned airports in Nigeria, only Lagos Airport, with 485,005, was named among the Top 10 by departing seats in December 2025 in Africa, while Egypt had two airports on the list – Cairo International and Hurghada airports.
This was contained in the December 2025 report by Official Airline Guide (OAG).
OAG is a global aviation data company providing essential flight schedules, status, and analytics to airlines, airports, and travel businesses.
Lagos airport was ranked sixth on the list.
The busiest airport on the continent in terms of departing seats was Cairo International Airport in Egypt, with 1,587,888 seats.
The second busiest airport in Africa on the list was Addis Ababa airport, Ethiopia, with 1,121,204, and Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International, South Africa, came third with 1,082,813 seats within the period.
Also ranked among the Top 10 on the continent were Casablanca in Morocco with 581,635; Cape Town (South Africa), 592,227; and Marrakech airport, Morocco, with 465,060.
Others are Algiers airport, Algeria, 493,940; Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Kenya, 500,755; and Hurghada, Egypt, had 395,694 departing seats in last December.
Besides, the report indicated that total capacity across Africa for the month of December 2025 increased by 6.8 per cent to 25.2 million seats when compared to the same period in 2024.
Also, international capacity, representing 77 per cent of total capacity, was up by 7.6 per cent when compared to the same period in 2024, while domestic capacity increased by 4.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, mainline carriers made up 79 per cent of the market, with their capacity rising 6.1 per cent compared to December 2024, while low-cost carriers grew even faster at a rate of 9.9 per cent year-over-year to reach 5.2 million seats.