Global air passenger demand increased by just 0.2% year on year in July 2026, as sharp declines in the Middle East and North America offset growth elsewhere, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Capacity grew by 0.3%, while the global passenger load factor slipped by 0.1 percentage points to 85.2%. Excluding the Middle East, worldwide demand increased by 1.2%.
International traffic declined by 0.1%, although it rose by 1.5% when Middle Eastern airlines were excluded. International capacity increased by 0.3%, resulting in a load factor of 85.2%.
Middle Eastern carriers recorded the steepest international decline, with demand falling by 9.5% and capacity by 5.8%. Their load factor dropped by 3.3 percentage points to 80.9%, although IATA said traffic through Gulf hubs continued to recover from larger declines earlier in the year.
International demand among North American airlines fell by 2.3%, matched by an equivalent capacity reduction. Traffic on the North Atlantic corridor decreased by 2.2%, with notable weakness in travel from the UK, France and Spain.
European airlines reported international demand growth of 3.1% and a 3.2% increase in capacity. Europe–Asia traffic expanded by 12.1%, the strongest performance among the major international corridors.
Latin American airlines recorded the highest regional international growth at 7.1%, followed by African carriers at 6.4%. Asia-Pacific international traffic declined by 0.7%, but a larger 1.7% capacity reduction lifted the region’s load factor by 0.9 percentage points.
Domestic demand increased by 0.6%, supported by growth of 6% in Brazil and 5.3% in China. India recorded the weakest performance, with traffic down 6.3%, while demand also declined in the United States and Australia.
Despite high fuel prices, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty, IATA said airlines remained confident about demand for the remainder of the year, with global seat capacity scheduled to increase by almost 3% in September.