Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport Exceeds Monthly Airline Seats Capacity
According to flightrader24 tracking data for March 2025, Johannesburg’s O.R. Tambo International Airport recorded over 2 million scheduled airline seats, making it one of only three airports in Africa to exceed this monthly airline seat capacity. The other two are Egypt’s Cairo International Airport, and Bole International Airport in Ethiopia.
A breakdown of cabin shows First Class with 5,296 seats, Business Class with 127,489 seats, Premium Economy with 26,321 seats and Economy Class dominating the total, with1,936,714 seats.
Domestic Market accounted for the largest share, with 1,116,203 seats (53.26%), followed by Intra-Africa destinations. The top three destinations were all domestic led by Cape Town International Airport , which saw nearly 500,000 seats for the month.
Dubai ranked as the leading intercontinental route with over 80,000 seats while Harare (Zimbabwe) rounded out the top five, maintaining its position as the busiest intra-African route with more than 60,000 seats.
FlySafair was the dominant carrier at the airport, offering over 500,000 seats in March 2025. The aircraft that offered the most capacity (workhorse) was a FlySafair Boeing 737-800, registered ZS-FGF, followed by a South African Airways Boeing 737-800, registered TC-SOC.
