Global air passenger demand contracted in August as persistent geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and rising energy costs weighed on travel recovery, data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed on Wednesday.
Total passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), fell 0.8% compared with August 2025. Excluding Middle Eastern carriers, global demand edged up 0.6% year-on-year—half the pace recorded in July.
Middle Eastern airlines saw passenger demand plunge 14.6% as geopolitical instability disrupted regional traffic, reversing a gradual post-February stabilization trend. Routes linking the Middle East to Asia were hit particularly hard, sliding 11.7% during the month.
“Global demand for air transport contracted by 0.8% compared to August 2025 as the recovery trajectory for carriers in the Middle East was interrupted,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist. “With some important exceptions such as domestic China, global connectivity was generally weaker in August.”
International passenger traffic slipped 0.9% year-on-year, though it posted a 1.3% gain when excluding the Middle East. Transatlantic travel softened with a 2.4% dip, driven by weakness in key European markets including Britain and France, though the Europe-Asia corridor remained robust with a 12.2% surge.
Domestic passenger traffic contracted 0.5% globally. While China’s domestic market expanded 5.8% on summer travel demand, sharp drops in India (-7.5%), the United States (-2.9%), and Japan (-2.0%) dragged down overall domestic figures.
Global airline capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), grew 0.3% year-on-year, pushing the global average load factor down 0.9 percentage points to 85.1%.
Looking ahead, IATA pointed to cautious optimism for the final quarter, noting that forward schedules for October indicate a 2.0% expansion in available seats, even as airlines watch whether elevated energy prices and inflation trim consumer travel budgets.
