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IATA says demand trend positive after passenger demand rises 0.2% in July
September 1st 2026
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported demand for air travel, measured by revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), rose 0.2% in July compared with the same month in 2025. Read More » The airline lobby group’s monthly traffic report said growth in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America/Caribbean was offset by declines in the Middle East, where RPKs were down 10% year-on-year, and North America (down 1.2%). Industry-wide capacity, or available seat kilometres, was up 0.3%, while passenger load factor decreased 0.1 of a percentage point to 85.2%. "The peak northern summer travel season is a mostly positive story for air travel," IATA chief economist and senior vice president for sustainability, Marie Owens Thomsen, said. "Notably, traffic through the Gulf hubs continues its recovery trajectory. Although high fuel costs, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions continue, carriers are expressing confidence in demand for the last part of the year with an almost 3% expansion of seat capacity in September," IATA senior vice president for sustainability and chief economist, Marie Owens Thomsen, said. The IATA report showed demand rose 1% in the Asia-Pacific region, while capacity was 0.3% higher and passenger load factor climbed 0.6 of a percentage point to 83.7%.
