Almaty, October 1 — Global air travel demand fell 0.8% year-on-year in August 2026, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), primarily due to a sharp decline in traffic among Middle Eastern carriers. The company said total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), increased 0.3% year-on-year, while the passenger load factor decreased by 0.9 percentage points to 85.1%. Data shows international passenger demand declined 0.9% compared to August 2025, but rose 1.3% when Middle Eastern carriers were excluded.
International capacity remained unchanged, with the load factor falling 0.8 percentage points to 85.0%. Domestic demand fell 0.5% year-on-year, while capacity increased 0.7%, resulting in a domestic load factor of 85.3%, down 1.1 percentage points.
Regional divergence in traffic trends
Officials noted that by region, passenger traffic increased in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, while it declined in North America and the Middle East. Among international markets, European carriers saw demand rise 2.1%, Latin American and African airlines each recorded 6.7% growth, Asia-Pacific carriers reported a 0.1% decline, and North American and Middle Eastern carriers saw declines of 1.7% and 14.2%, respectively.
Domestic patterns in key economies
Domestic traffic increased 5.8% in China but fell 7.5% in India, 2.9% in the United States, and 2.0% in Japan. Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, stated that global demand for air transport contracted by 0.8% compared to August 2025 as the recovery trajectory for Middle Eastern carriers was interrupted. She noted that excluding Middle Eastern carriers, air travel demand grew 0.6% in August, half the pace recorded in July.
Outlook and prior warnings
IATA indicated that forward schedules for October 2026 suggest cautious optimism, with available seats expected to grow by 2.0%. Earlier reports from Qazinform News Agency noted that IATA had sharply downgraded its financial outlook for the global airline industry, citing disruptions in the Middle East and soaring fuel prices. The data was published on 1 October 2026 at 00:43 by Qazinform News Agency, with photo credit to WAM.
