The International Air Transport Association (IATA) that represents over 370 airlines accounting for some 85% of global air traffic, released data for August 2026 global passenger demand,
According to IATA, total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was down 0.8% compared to August 2025.
“Excluding the Middle East carriers, demand for air travel grew by 0.6% year-on-year in August, half the pace seen in July. With some important exceptions such as domestic China, global connectivity was generally weaker in August,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability, and Chief Economist.
“The coming months will reveal whether travelers, whose purchasing power has been reduced by higher energy prices, are adjusting their travel budgets, and might be discouraged from traveling due to the prevailing geopolitical instability,” added Thmosen.
“In the meantime, forward schedules for October are showing cautious optimism with 2.0% growth in available seats,” he said.
International RPK fell 0.9% year-on-year, with capacity unchanged. However, excluding the Middle East carriers, total demand rose 1.3% on the same basis.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 0.1% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity decreased 0.9% year-on-year, and the load factor was 85.6%.
Traffic on routes within Asia fell 2.0% and capacity declined for the fourth month in a row. By contrast, traffic on the Asia-North America corridor grew by 2.5%.
European carriers saw a 2.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity rose 2.8% year-on-year, and the load factor was 86.8%. The Europe-Asia corridor continued to expand strongly (+12.2%) but transatlantic routes fell 2.4%, with traffic declining from several markets including the UK and France.
North American carriers saw a decrease in demand of 1.7% year-on-year. Capacity decreased 1.1% year-on-year, and the load factor was 86.8%.
Middle Eastern carriers saw a 14.2% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity fell 9.0% year-on-year, and the load factor was 79.1% .
The decline in traffic worsened in August, reversing the trend of gradual stabilization since the Iran war in February. The year-on-year contraction on Middle East-Asia routes, for example, accelerated to -11.7% from -8.6% in July.
Latin American airlines achieved a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 6.4% year-on-year. The load factor was 84.8%.
African airlines saw a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 8.3% year-on-year. The load factor was 78.4%.
