Global air passenger demand increased by just 0,2% compared with July 2025. Excluding the Middle East, demand grew by 1,2% and capacity grew 0,3%, while the global load factor reached 85,2%, down 0,1 percentage points compared with July 2025.
Despite a 6,4% increase in demand, the second-highest growth among the regions, African airlines recorded the lowest load factors at 74,1% (a 1,8 percentage points decrease compared with July 2025. Capacity was up 9% year-on-year.
International demand fell 0,1% year-on-year, although excluding the Middle East, it grew 1,5%. Capacity increased 0,3%, while the load factor declined by 0,3 percentage points to 85,2%.
“The peak Northern summer travel season is a mostly positive story for air travel. Overall growth in July was achieved despite year-on-year collective declines by carriers in North America and the Middle East,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability, and Chief Economist.
Although high fuel costs, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions continue, Thomsen said airlines remained confident about demand for the rest of the year, with seat capacity expected to expand by almost 3% in September.
