(Posted 07th August 2026)
Courtesy of Mr. Alex Koech and AeroTrail Limited
Cape Town International Airport (CPT) ranked as Africa’s fourth busiest airport by scheduled airline seat capacity during the first half of 2026, trailing only Cairo International Airport (CAI), #Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport (JNB), and Addis Ababa Bole (ADD/HAAB).
During the six-month period, the airport recorded an estimated 6,809,101 available seats. January was the busiest month, with 1,226,153 seats, while June recorded the lowest monthly capacity at 919,904 seats. On a daily basis, 4 January was the busiest day of the half with 45,191 scheduled seats, whereas 6 June recorded the lowest daily capacity at 26,754 seats.
Domestic services continued to dominate operations at Cape Town, accounting for approximately 70% of total seat capacity. Intercontinental routes contributed 20%, while intra_African services represented the remaining 10%. The busiest routes were domestic, led by Johannesburg OR Tambo (JNB), followed by Durban (DUR), Johannesburg_Lanseria (HLA), and Gqeberha (PLZ). The Cape Town–Johannesburg OR Tambo route alone accounted for approximately 2,694,662 seats, representing nearly 40% of the airport’s total capacity.
FlySafair remained the dominant airline at Cape Town, offering 2,922,696 seats, equivalent to 43% of the airport’s total capacity. It was followed by Airlink (840,450 seats), South African Airways (739,231 seats), LIFT (365,656 seats), and Ethiopian Airlines (206,649 seats), the largest African international carrier serving the airport.
The infographic above provides a comprehensive overview of Cape Town International Airport‘s H1 2026 traffic trends, airline market shares, route performance, and capacity distribution.
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