….. surges by nearly 10%
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says, airline passenger demand saw a global increase of 5.0% in May 2025 compared to the same period last year.
Capacity according to a data recently released also kept pace with a 5.0% rise, resulting in a strong load factor of 83.4%.
International Travel Hits Record High
International demand outpaced domestic growth, climbing by a robust 6.7% year-on-year. Capacity for international flights increased by 6.4%, pushing the international load factor to a record 83.2% for May.
Conversely, domestic demand experienced a more modest 2.1% increase, with capacity expanding by 2.8%. This led to a slight dip in the domestic load factor to 83.7%.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, acknowledged the uneven nature of this growth. “Air travel demand growth was uneven in May,” Walsh stated.
“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.”
Regional Performance Varies Amidst Global Challenges
While international RPK growth reached 6.7% across all regions, load factors presented a mixed picture. Traffic expansion on most key international routes to the Americas slowed in May, with the exception of Transatlantic travel, which saw a modest 2.5% increase.
Asia-Pacific airlines led the international surge with a significant 13.3% year-on-year increase in demand, accompanied by a 10.6% rise in capacity and a 2.0 percentage point improvement in load factor, reaching 84.0%.
European carriers reported a 4.1% increase in demand and a 4.8% rise in capacity, resulting in a load factor of 84.0%.
North American carriers experienced a more modest 1.4% increase in demand and a 1.7% rise in capacity, with a load factor of 83.8%.
Middle Eastern carriers saw a 6.2% increase in demand and a 6.3% increase in capacity, with their load factor at 80.9%.
Latin American airlines recorded an 8.8% increase in demand, though capacity climbed faster at 11.0%, leading to a load factor of 83.6%.
African airlines demonstrated strong growth with a 9.5% increase in demand and a 6.2% rise in capacity, boosting their load factor to 74.9%. The Africa-Asia corridor emerged as the fastest-growing international route, expanding by 15.9%.
Domestic Landscape: US Declines, China and Brazil Rise
Domestically, the 2.1% rise in RPK was tempered by a 2.8% capacity expansion, leading to a 0.5 percentage point drop in load factor to 83.7%. The United States was the only region to see a decline in domestic travel, attributed to an economic slowdown and reduced government travel.
In contrast, China’s domestic travel continued its accelerated growth, a trend observed since March, and Brazil showcased robust growth, maintaining an unbroken expansion since January 2023.
Walsh also highlighted external factors influencing the industry.
“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,” he noted.
“The impact of such instability on oil price 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.”
