Global passenger demand in March, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), increased by 2.1% compared to March 2025, said the latest data from International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Meanwhile, total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), decreased by 1.7% year-on-year. As a result, the load factor reached 83.6%, marking an increase of 3.1 percentage points compared to March 2025.
International demand
declined by 0.6% compared to March 2025. Capacity saw a sharper drop of 6.2%
year-on-year, while the load factor rose to 84.1%, an improvement of 4.7
percentage points.
The overall decrease
in international traffic was largely driven by a significant 60.8% drop in
traffic among carriers in the Middle East.
In contrast, domestic
demand showed strong growth, rising by 6.5% compared to March 2025. Capacity
also increased by 5.6% year-on-year.
The domestic load
factor reached 83.0%, reflecting a modest gain of 0.7 percentage points
compared to March 2025.
“Demand for air travel
continued to grow in March despite disruptions in the Middle East. The nearly
61% decline in international traffic by carriers in the Middle East did,
however, restrain global growth to 2.1%. Outside of the Middle East demand grew
by 8%,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
“Everybody’s watching
what’s happening with jet fuel—both supply and pricing. On the supply side,
over the next months we could see shortages in parts of the world with high
dependence on supplies from the Gulf, especially Asia and Europe. And the
extraordinarily high cost of jet fuel is increasingly being reflected in ticket
prices. While this has not impacted March traffic or forward bookings to date,
it remains to be seen at what point high prices could start to shift passenger
behavior. So far, the summer is shaping up to be a normally busy time for
travel. That’s positive news, but airline resilience is being tested and
stabilising the supply and price of fuel is crucial. In the meantime, it’s
important for regulators to be prepared to grant airlines some flexibility on
slots considering the extraordinary circumstances of airspace capacity
restrictions and potential fuel rationing,” said Walsh.
Regional Breakdown -
International Passenger Markets
International RPK fell
-0.6%, the first decline since March 2021. This fall was due to the major
decrease in Middle East traffic. In contrast, other international markets grew
by 9%, and the passenger load factor rose in all regions except the Middle East.
Asia-Pacific
airlines achieved an 11.5% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity
increased 1.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 91.2% (+8.1 ppt compared
to March 2025). Traffic in the region was boosted by the tail end of the Lunar
New Year travel period, as well as international routes (with the exception of
routes to the Middle East) enjoying double-digit expansion.
European
carriers saw a 7.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased
3.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 81.4% (+3.4 ppt compared to March
2025). Traffic between Europe and Asia surged 29.3% as direct services replaced
traffic transiting through the Middle East.
North American
carriers saw a 3.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased
0.9% year-on-year, and the load factor was 85.5% (+2.3 ppt compared to March
2025). Transatlantic travel grew 3.3% and the growth rate between Asia and
North America more than doubled compared to February.
Middle Eastern
carriers saw a 60.8% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity decreased
56.9% year-on-year, and the load factor was 67.8% (-6.6 ppt compared to March
2025). These figures are a direct result of the US-Israel-Iran war, which
closed much of the airspace in the region.
Latin American
airlines achieved a 12.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity
climbed 8.4% year-on-year. The load factor was 83.8% (+2.7 ppt compared to
March 2025).
African airlines saw
a 19.2% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 4.2% year-on-year. The
load factor was 77.7% (+9.8 ppt compared to March 2025).
Domestic Passenger
Markets
Domestic RPK rose by a robust 6.5% in March 2026 compared to March 2025, with capacity growth of 5.6%. China and Brazil once again led the pack with double-digit expansion, and Australia and Japan also showed notably stronger growth. Indian domestic traffic fell, perhaps as a result of fewer feeder flights to the hubs serving the Middle East. -TradeArabia News Service