Total July air demand, as measured in revenue passenger kilometers, increased 0.2 percent year over year, according to the International Air Transport Association's latest monthly report.
It was the first monthly year-over-year global traffic increase since March, as the war in Iran has dampened demand. For July, excluding the Middle East, demand grew 1.2 percent compared with July 2025, according to IATA.
July capacity, as measured in available seat kilometers, increased 0.3 percent year over year. Load factor declined 0.1 percentage points to 85.2 percent.
International July demand declined 0.1 percent year over year, but excluding the Middle East, it grew 1.5 percent, according to IATA. International capacity was up 0.3 percent, while load factor declined 0.3 percentage points to 85.2 percent.
July domestic traffic increased 0.6 percent year over year, with capacity up 0.2 percent. Domestic load factor increased 0.3 percentage points to 85.3 percent.
Overall July demand growth "was achieved despite year-on-year collective declines by carriers in North America and the Middle East," IATA SVP of sustainability and chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen said in a statement. "Although high fuel costs, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions continue, carriers are expressing confidence in demand for the last part of the year with an almost 3 percent expansion of seat capacity in September."
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The Middle East reported July total demand and capacity declines of 10 percent and 6.2 percent year over year, respectively. North America was the only other market to report declines in demand and capacity, down 1.2 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
Demand in Latin America and the Caribbean increased 6.1 percent, with capacity up 6.6 percent for the period. The region had the highest demand growth rate, while Africa reported the largest capacity increase, at 7.3 percent. Demand in Europe was up 2.1 percent, while capacity grew 2.3 percent.
The Middle East, North America and Asia-Pacific each reported year-over-year declines in international demand and capacity for July. Latin America and the Caribbean had the largest demand growth rate for the period, at 7.1 percent compared with a year prior, and Africa had the largest capacity growth rate at 9 percent. Asia-Pacific load factor increased 0.9 percent to 84.5 percent compared with July 2025, while load factor for North America was level at 88.2 percent. All other regions reported declines in load factor.
July domestic results by region were mixed. India traffic declined 6.3 percent year over year, with capacity down 6 percent. The U.S. also reported declines in both demand (0.5 percent) and capacity (1.4 percent). Australia demand declined 0.5 percent, but capacity was up 1.2 percent. Brazil had the highest demand and capacity growth rates for the period, followed by China and Japan. Domestic load factors declined or increased by less than 1 percentage point compared with July 2025. The U.S. reported the largest increase, at 0.8 percentage points, to 86.7 percent.
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