The global representative body for the airline industry, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has reported strong year-on-year growth in air passenger traffic in October. Total global demand increased by 6.6%, international demand by 8.5%, and domestic demand by 3.6%. Over the same period, total global capacity rose by 5.8%, with international capacity up 7.1%, and domestic capacity was augmented by 3.6%. The total load factor in October was 84.6%, which was up 0.7 percentage points (ppt), year-on-year. The international load factor was also 84.6% (a 1.1 ppt increase, year-on-year), while the domestic load factor was again 84.6% (a decrease of -0.1 ppt, year-on-year).

“October was a strong month for air travel with demand up 6.6% on the previous year,” highlighted IATA director-general Willie Walsh. “Of particular note is the 4.5% international traffic growth for carriers based in North America which comes after several months of basically flat performance. The trends for the rest of the year look encouraging: scheduled seat capacity in November is set to expand 3.6% and in December by 4.7%. This points to strong demand for holiday travel and businesses looking to complete deals by the end of the year. Considering the uncertainty in the economic outlook for 2026, the resilience of demand for air travel, with the jobs and growth it brings, is a bright spot that governments should nurture with care.”

The region which saw the strongest year-on-year growth in total air passenger traffic in October was the Middle East, at 10.5%, followed by Africa, at 8.8%, and the Asia-Pacific, at 8.1%. Then came Europe (6.7%), Latin America and the Caribbean (6.1%) and North America (2.5%).

Regarding international air passenger traffic, the order was different. The region with the strongest year-on-year growth was the Asia-Pacific (10.9%), with the Middle East next (10.7%), followed by Europe (7.4%). The came Africa (7.3%), Latin America (7.2%) and North America (4.5%).

The six main domestic air travel markets were Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, and the US. Together, they accounted for some 79.1% of total domestic air passenger demand. Of these, the one with the strongest year-on-year demand increase in October was, by far, Brazil, at 12.4%. Next came China, at 5.7%, and then India (4.6%) and Japan (4.2%). They were followed by Australia (3.8%) and the US (1.3%).