Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Global passenger air travel demand fell by 0.5% in September 2026 compared with the same month last year. Excluding Middle Eastern markets, however, demand increased by 0.3%.
Total airline capacity declined by 0.2%, while the passenger load factor stood at 83.2%, down 0.3 percentage points year-on-year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Air travel demand is measured in revenue passenger-kilometres (RPK), while capacity is measured in available seat-kilometres (ASK).
On international routes, demand increased by 0.4%, or 1.7% excluding the Middle East. Capacity grew by 0.5%, and the load factor reached 83.6%, down 0.1 percentage points from September 2025.
On domestic markets, demand fell by 2.2% and capacity declined by 1.3%. The load factor decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 82.5%.
IATA Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Sustainability Marie Owens Thomsen attributed the overall decline to weaker markets in the Middle East and North America. However, the situation improved compared with August, with most international markets returning to growth.
She said similar trends had been observed throughout the year and could continue amid geopolitical uncertainty and volatile fuel prices. Global scheduled airline capacity is expected to remain above 2025 levels in October and November, although growth will be modest and vary significantly across regions.
Among regional markets, including domestic and international traffic, African airlines recorded the strongest demand growth at 5.0%, followed by carriers in Latin America and the Caribbean at 4.3%. Demand increased by 0.5% in the Asia-Pacific region and by 0.3% in Europe. In contrast, it fell by 8.0% in the Middle East and 1.6% in North America.
In 2025, the Asia-Pacific region accounted for 34.4% of global passenger traffic, followed by Europe with 26.7%, North America with 21.8%, the Middle East with 9.5%, Latin America with 5.4% and Africa with 2.2%.
International traffic improved across most major markets in September.
Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region recorded a 0.7% increase in demand, while capacity grew by 0.4%. The load factor reached 83.1%. Traffic increased on four of the region’s six largest international routes. Passenger traffic on routes within Asia fell by 0.9%, although the decline was less pronounced than in August.
European carriers increased demand by 1.8% and capacity by 1.2%. Their load factor reached 86.1%, up 0.5 percentage points. Traffic on transatlantic routes declined by 0.6%, compared with a 2.5% drop in August.
International demand for North American airlines remained unchanged. As capacity fell by 1.9%, the load factor increased by 1.6 percentage points to 84.9%. Passenger traffic declined on three of the region’s four largest international routes, although the pace of contraction slowed compared with August.
In the Middle East, international demand fell by 7.5%, while capacity declined by 3.3%. The load factor dropped by 3.6 percentage points to 78.3%. Traffic between the Middle East and Asia fell by 8.8%, compared with a 7.9% decline in August. On routes between the Middle East and North America, traffic decreased by 3.0%, a slightly smaller decline than in the previous month.
Latin American airlines increased international demand by 8.2% and capacity by 7.6%, bringing the load factor to 83.9%. African carriers recorded an 8.0% increase in demand and an 8.8% rise in capacity, with a load factor of 74.8%.
On domestic markets, Australia, Brazil and China recorded demand growth of 4.5%, 2.0% and 3.1%, respectively. However, this growth was insufficient to offset the decline in the United States, where demand fell by 2.7%. IATA suggested that lower consumer confidence may have affected the US market.
In India, domestic demand fell by 8.3%, marking the steepest decline since the beginning of 2026. In Japan, passenger traffic decreased by 0.8%, partly amid weather-related disruptions during part of the Silver Week holiday period.
According to IATA, the six domestic markets for which detailed statistics are available account for approximately 29.6% of global passenger traffic and 79.4% of all domestic air travel.
Overall, domestic routes accounted for 37.2% of global passenger traffic in 2025.
