The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is the global representative body for the airline industry, has reported that total global air passenger demand decreased slightly, in year-on-year terms, in August.

“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,” reported IATA senior VP sustainability and chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen. “The region’s carriers reported that demand was 14.6% lower [year-on-year], reversing an improving trend. Excluding the Middle East, demand for air travel grew by 0.6% [year-on-year] in August, half the pace seen in July. With some important exceptions such as domestic China, global connectivity was generally weaker in August.”

International air passenger demand was down -0.9% year-on-year in August, although, if the Middle East is excluded, it was up 1.3%. Domestic demand declined -0.5% year-on-year. Total global passenger capacity increased by 0.3% year-on-year in August, with international capacity remaining flat (0%), while domestic capacity rose 0.7%. The total global load factor in August was 85.1%, which was a -0.9 of a percentage point reduction, year-on-year. The international load factor was 85%, down -0.8 of a percentage point, year-on-year, and the domestic load factor was 85.3%, a decline of -1.1 percentage points.

The region that saw the strongest year-on-year total growth in August was Latin America and the Caribbean, at 5.3%, followed by Africa, at 4.4%. Then came the Asia-Pacific (1.4%) and Europe (0.7%). North America saw a decline of -2.2% and the Middle East a fall of -14.6%.

In terms of international passenger demand, the two regions that saw the strongest year-on-year growth in August, at 6.7% each, were Africa and Latin America. Then came Europe, at 2.1%. The other three IATA regions all saw decreases in demand, ranging from the Asia-Pacific’s -0.1%, through North America’s -1.7%, to the Middle East’s -14.2%.

Regarding domestic air travel, the six biggest markets were Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan and the US. Together, they accounted for 79.4% of total domestic air travel. Of these, China saw the strongest year-on-year growth in August, coming in at 5.8%, followed by Brazil (4.3%) and Australia (2.3%). Japan saw a decline of -2% and the US a fall of -2.9%, while India recorded a drop of -7.5%.

“The coming months will reveal whether travellers, whose purchasing power has been reduced by higher energy prices, are adjusting their travel budgets, and might be discouraged from travelling due to the prevailing geopolitical instability,” observed Thomsen. “In the meantime, forward schedules for October are showing cautious optimism with 2% growth in available seats.”