The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported a 5.0% year-on-year increase in global passenger demand for May 2025, with Asia-Pacific carriers and the Africa-Asia route showing standout growth.

Measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), total demand growth was matched by a 5.0% rise in global capacity (available seat kilometers, or ASK), resulting in a near-steady global load factor of 83.4%, just 0.1 percentage points below May 2024.

International traffic drove much of the growth, with demand rising 6.7% compared to the same month last year. International capacity was up 6.4%, pushing the load factor to a record 83.2% for May.

Domestic markets, by contrast, showed more modest growth, increasing 2.1% year-on-year, while capacity rose by 2.8%. This led to a slightly lower domestic load factor of 83.7%, down 0.5 percentage points from last year.

Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said: “Air travel demand growth was uneven in May. 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."

He added: “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. The impact of such instability on oil prices - 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."

Regional breakdown

Asia-Pacific airlines recorded the strongest international performance, with demand up 13.3% and capacity up 10.6%. The region’s load factor climbed 2.0 points to 84.0%.

African carriers posted a 9.5% rise in demand and a 6.2% capacity increase, resulting in the biggest load factor gain across all regions at +2.2 percentage points, reaching 74.9%. The Africa-Asia corridor was the fastest-growing international segment, expanding by 15.9%.

Latin American airlines saw demand rise 8.8%, though capacity increased by a sharper 11.0%, pulling load factor down 1.7 points to 83.6%.

Middle Eastern carriers recorded a 6.2% rise in traffic with a 6.3% rise in capacity. Load factor remained largely unchanged at 80.9%.

European carriers experienced a 4.1% growth in demand and a 4.8% rise in capacity, pushing the load factor slightly down to 84.0%.

North American carriers had the weakest regional performance, with demand up just 1.4% and capacity up 1.7%. Load factor declined 0.3 percentage points to 83.8%.

While global traffic continues its upward trend, IATA noted a mixed picture on load factors, which rose only marginally overall. Traffic expansion on most international routes to the Americas slowed in May, except for transatlantic routes, which saw a modest 2.5% year-on-year increase.

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