Global air passenger demand surges in April with record load factors

IATA data shows that revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) grew by 8.0% in April compared to April 2024, with international markets leading the charge and overall load factors (percentage of available capacity used) hitting a record high for the month.

International traffic rose 10.8% year on year, outpacing the 8.5% increase in capacity and pushing the international load factor to 84.1% – the highest ever recorded for April. Domestically, growth was more modest at 3.3%, with capacity up 3.1% and a load factor of 82.7%.

“April was a positive month for travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. “Growth strengthened, especially for international demand, which saw record load factors for the month. The return of the transatlantic market to growth is particularly encouraging. But there are some signs of fragility of consumer and business confidence with continued weakness in the US domestic market and a sharp fall in North American premium class travel.”

All regions reported growth in international traffic. Asia Pacific led with a 14.4% increase, followed by Latin America (13.9%), the Middle East (11.2%), and Africa (13.6%), which rebounded after two months of decline. European carriers posted a solid 9.4% gain, while North America recorded 5.4% growth, despite a notable 26% drop in first and business class travel.

At the domestic level, India stood out with RPK growth of 10.1%, though its capacity outpaced demand slightly, nudging its load factor down by 0.9 points to 85.7% – still the highest among major domestic markets. Brazil also posted strong growth at 13.5%. The US domestic market, however, shrank for the third consecutive month, down 0.5% year on year.

The global load factor reached 83.6% in April, up 1.1 percentage points on the previous year, underlining the continued recovery and efficiency of airline operations worldwide.

Milan airport’s passenger traffic has grown 11.5%, while sales have increased by 15.4%, according to figures released by SEA Group.