"Air travel demand growth was uneven in May. Globally, the industry reported 5% growth with Asia-Pacific taking the lead at 9.4%. The outlier was North America which reported a 0.5% decline, led by a 1.7% fall in the US domestic market," says Willie Walsh, Iata’s director general.
He adds: "Severe disruptions in the Middle East in late June remind us that geopolitical instability remains a challenge in some regions as airlines maintain safe operations with minimal passenger inconvenience.
"The impact of such instability on oil prices—which remained low throughout May—is also a critical factor to monitor. Importantly, consumer confidence appears to be strong with forward bookings for the peak Northern summer travel season, giving good reason for optimism."
International passenger demand increased by 6.7% compared to May 2024, with capacity up 6.4% and a record May load factor of 83.2%. Asia-Pacific airlines achieved the highest growth at 13.3%, followed by African airlines at 9.5%.
Africa-Asia remained the fastest-growing international corridor, expanding by 15.9% year-on-year.
African carriers’ capacity rose by 6.2% year-on-year in May, with a load factor improvement of 2.2 percentage points to 74.9%.
European airlines reported a 4.1% increase in demand, North American carriers saw 1.4% growth, and Middle Eastern airlines achieved a 6.2% increase.
Domestic air travel demand rose 2.1% in May compared to the same month in 2024, with capacity up 2.8%. The global domestic load factor slipped by 0.5 percentage points to 83.7%.
While most domestic markets saw positive growth, the US domestic market contracted by 1.7% year-on-year, attributed to economic headwinds and reductions in government-related travel.
Chinese domestic travel maintained its upward trend, accelerating to a 7.4% increase, while Brazil’s domestic market posted a robust 18.3% rise—the strongest domestic performance globally.
• Africa: +9.5% RPK, 74.9% load factor
• Asia-Pacific: +13.3% RPK, 84.0% load factor
• Europe: +4.1% RPK, 84.0% load factor
• Middle East: +6.2% RPK, 80.9% load factor
• North America: +1.4% RPK, 83.8% load factor
• Latin America: +8.8% RPK, 83.6% load factor
