đŸ”·The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic data for September 2026. Accordingly, total passenger demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), decreased by 0.5% compared to the same month of the previous year. Total capacity declined by 0.2%, while the passenger load factor fell by 0.3 percentage points to 83.2%. Excluding the Middle East, global passenger demand increased by 0.3%.
đŸ”·Passenger demand on international flights increased by 0.4% and capacity by 0.5%, with the load factor reaching 83.6%. On domestic routes, demand dropped by 2.2%, capacity fell by 1.3%, and the load factor declined to 82.5%. According to regional data, total passenger demand decreased by 8% in the Middle East and 1.6% in North America, while it increased by 5% in Africa, 4.3% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 0.5% in Asia-Pacific, and 0.3% in Europe.
đŸ”·Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, stated that the decline in global demand was particularly driven by weakness in the Middle East and North American markets. Noting that the September results showed an improvement compared to August, Thomsen pointed out that despite geopolitical uncertainties and volatile fuel prices, growth has resumed in most international markets.
