Global air passenger demand rises in May, but growth uneven – IATA

Global air passenger demand rose by 5.0% year-on-year in May 2025, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The overall picture was one of mixed regional performance, with Asia-Pacific leading growth while North America recorded a rare decline.

Asia-Pacific carriers posted the strongest performance with a 9.4% rise in total traffic, including a 13.3% increase in international demand. Domestic markets in the region also showed strength, particularly China (+7.4%) and Japan (+5.8%). The Africa–Asia route emerged as the fastest-growing international corridor, up 15.9% year-on-year.

Conversely, North America was the only region to register a decline, with total traffic falling 0.5%. This was driven by a 1.7% drop in the US domestic market, attributed to economic headwinds and reduced government travel. Although international demand in the region increased by 1.4%, the load factor slipped to 83.8% (-0.3 percentage points).

Europe saw a modest 3.4% increase in total demand, with international traffic up 4.1%. Load factors in the region fell slightly to 84.0%. Latin America and Africa both posted stronger growth, with traffic up 8.5% and 7.5%, respectively. Africa also recorded the largest improvement in load factor, rising by 2.2 percentage points to 74.9%.

Middle Eastern carriers grew traffic by 6.2%, despite ongoing geopolitical instability. IATA Director General Willie Walsh noted, “Air travel demand growth was uneven in May... Geopolitical instability remains a challenge, but airlines continue to operate safely and with minimal passenger inconvenience.”

Domestic global travel

On the domestic front, global traffic rose 2.1%. Brazil led domestic market growth with an 18.3% increase, extending a growth streak that began in January 2023. India, despite growing 3.1%, saw the steepest decline in load factor (-5.3 ppt).

Consumer sentiment remains strong, with IATA citing solid forward bookings for the peak Northern Hemisphere summer. While global capacity growth matched demand, load factors showed only marginal movement, with the industry average settling at 83.4%.

Walsh concluded that the strong summer outlook offers “good reason for optimism,” even as the industry keeps a watchful eye on geopolitical and economic developments.

IATA data shows that revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) grew by 8.0% in April compared to April 2024.