Photo: Shutterstock Global air passenger demand fell 0.8% year on year in August 2026, according to the latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), with a sharp decline in Middle East traffic weighing on the overall market.
Measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), global demand decreased 0.8% compared with August 2025. Capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), increased 0.3%, while the global passenger load factor fell 0.9 percentage points to 85.1%.
The picture was less negative when Middle Eastern carriers were excluded. Demand then increased 0.6% year on year, although IATA noted that this was only half the growth rate recorded in July.
Middle Eastern airlines recorded a 14.2% decline in international passenger demand, while capacity fell 9%. Their international load factor dropped 4.8 percentage points to 79.1%.
IATA said the decline accelerated in August, reversing a period of gradual stabilization. Traffic between the Middle East and Asia fell 11.7% year on year, compared with an 8.6% decline in July.
European airlines, meanwhile, recorded a 2.1% increase in international demand, with capacity up 2.8%. The Europe-Asia market continued to grow strongly, rising 12.2%, while transatlantic traffic declined 2.4%.
Latin American and African airlines both recorded 6.7% growth in international demand. Asia-Pacific carriers saw demand decline 0.1%, while North American airlines reported a 1.7% decrease.
Domestic passenger demand fell 0.5% globally in August, despite a 0.7% increase in capacity.
China was one of the stronger markets, with domestic demand rising 5.8%. IATA said Chinese domestic travel benefited from summer demand. By contrast, domestic demand fell 7.5% in India, 2.9% in the United States and 2% in Japan.
IATA Chief Economist Marie Owens Thomsen said weaker connectivity was visible in several markets during August, although October schedules point to a more positive outlook, with available seats currently expected to grow 2%.
The airline industry body said higher energy prices and geopolitical uncertainty could affect travel budgets in the coming months, although the impact on future passenger demand remains to be seen.
Overall international demand fell 0.9% in August, while capacity was unchanged from a year earlier. Excluding Middle Eastern carriers, international demand increased 1.3%.