The conflict in the Middle East again negatively affected global air demand in June, as it declined for the fourth consecutive month, according to the latest report from the International Air Transport Association.
June total demand, as measured in revenue passenger kilometers, declined 1.7 percent year over year. Excluding the Middle East, demand declined by 0.6 percent. Total capacity, as measured in available seat kilometers, decreased 1.3 percent. Load factor dropped 0.4 percentage points to 84.2 percent for the month.
Domestic demand in June contracted 3 percent year over year, with capacity down 2.4 percent. Load factor was 84 percent, down 0.5 percentage points compared with June 2025.
June international demand declined 0.9 percent year over year. Excluding the Middle East, international demand increased by 1.1 percent. Capacity was down 0.6 percent compared with June 2025, while the load factor dropped 0.5 percentage points to 84 percent.
The results in June are "largely due to domestic market declines in China, the U.S. and Japan, and weak but improving international demand for Middle East carriers," IATA director general Willie Walsh said in a statement. "While Middle East performance improved, renewed tensions will not help the region's recovery, and the knock-on impact of rising fuel prices will continue to burden travelers with higher airfares."
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The Middle East reported the sharpest declines—13.9 percent year over year for demand and 11.3 percent for capacity—and demand also dropped in North America and Asia-Pacific, down 1.1 percent and 2 percent, respectively. They also were the only other regions where capacity declined, 1.1 percent for North America and 2.1 percent for Asia-Pacific. Combined, those two regions compose 52.6 percent of the world share of global demand, according to IATA, using 2025 revenue per kilometer.
Brazil was the only domestic market to post increases in June in each demand and capacity, up 0.9 percent year over year and 4 percent, respectively. China reported the largest declines for each category—5.2 percent for demand and 3.4 percent for capacity.
The Middle East posted the sharpest decline for June international demand, down 14 percent year over year. Capacity was down 11 percent. Those figures, however, were an improvement over recent monthly rate declines. North America also posted decreases in June international demand and capacity of 1 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Africa had the highest growth rates of 6.7 percent for demand and 7 percent for capacity.
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