Photo: Shutterstock The impact of the war is being strongly felt across the aviation industry. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today (April 29, 2026) published flight demand data for March 2026, showing global demand growing at a moderate pace, particularly due to a sharp decline in airline activity in the Middle East.
According to the data, total demand for flights, measured in kilometers per paying passenger, increased by 2.1% compared to March 2025. At the same time, seat supply decreased by 1.7%, leading to an increase in aircraft occupancy to 83.6%, up 3.1% from last year.
International flights saw a 0.6% decline in demand, alongside a 6.2% decline in capacity. However, the load factor rose to 84.1%. The overall decline was mainly driven by a 60.8% drop in passenger traffic from Middle Eastern airlines.
At the same time, the aviation industry is monitoring developments in the jet fuel market, with concerns about supply shortages, especially in areas dependent on imports from the Gulf countries, along with high costs, likely to further affect ticket prices and passenger behavior.
Willie Walsh, IATA's Director General: "Everybody’s watching what’s happening with jet fuel, both supply and pricing. On the supply side, over the next months we could see shortages in parts of the world with high dependence on supplies from the Gulf, especially Asia and Europe. And the extraordinarily high cost of jet fuel is increasingly being reflected in ticket prices."
"Air travel continued to grow in March despite disruptions in the Middle East. The nearly 61% decline in international traffic by carriers in the Middle East did, however, restrain global growth to 2.1%. Outside of the Middle East demand grew by 8%,” he added.