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8 August 2025

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Passenger Growth Slows to 2.6% in June

David Valentine on https://unsplash.com/
David Valentine on https://unsplash.com/

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for June 2025 global passenger demand with the following highlights:

  1. Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), was up 2.6% compared to June 2024. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was also up 3.4% year-on-year. The June load factor was 84.5% (-0.6 ppt compared to June 2024).
  2. International demand rose 3.2% compared to June 2024. Capacity was up 4.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.4% (-0.8 ppt compared to June 2024).
  3. Domestic demand increased 1.6% compared to June 2024. Capacity was up 2.1% year-on-year. The load factor was 84.7% (-0.4 ppt compared to June 2024).

“In June, demand for air travel grew by 2.6%. That’s a slower pace than we have seen in previous months and reflects disruptions around military conflict in the Middle East. With demand growth lagging the 3.4% capacity expansion, load factors dipped 0.6 percentage points from their all-time record-high levels. At 84.5% globally, however, load factors are still very strong. And with a modest 1.8% capacity growth visible in August schedules, load factors over the Northern summer are unlikely to stray far from their recent historic highs,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

Air passenger market in detail – June 2025

World share¹RPKASKPLF (%-pt)PLF (level)
Total Market100%2.6%3.4%-0.6%84.5%
Africa2.2%0.8%1.5%-0.6%74.6%
Asia Pacific33.5%5.0%4.7%0.3%83.0%
Europe26.7%2.2%2.6%-0.3%87.8%
Latin America5.3%7.9%9.6%-1.3%82.9%
Middle East9.4%-0.2%1.6%-1.4%78.3%
North America22.9%0.1%2.1%-1.7%86.4%

¹% of industry RPKs in 2024

Regional Breakdown –International Passenger Markets

International RPK growth reached 3.2% in June year-on-year, but load factor fell across all regions as capacity growth outstripped demand. The steepest fall in RPK growth from May was in the Middle East, where international traffic contracted 0.4% year-on-year, impacted by military conflict.

  1. Asia-Pacific airlines achieved a 7.2% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 7.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 82.9% (-0.2 ppt compared to June 2024).
  2. European carriers had a 2.8% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 3.3% year-on-year, and the load factor was 87.4% (-0.4 ppt compared to June 2024).
  3. North American carriers saw a 0.3% year-on-year fall in demand. Capacity increased 2.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 86.9% (-2.2 ppt compared to June 2024).
  4. Middle Eastern carriers saw a 0.4% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity increased 1.1% year-on-year, and the load factor was 78.7% (-1.2 ppt compared to June 2024). Military conflict particularly impacted traffic on routes to North America (-7.0% year-on-year) and Europe (-4.4% year-on-year).
  5. Latin American airlines saw a 9.3% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 11.8% year-on-year. The load factor was 83.3% (-1.9 ppt compared to June 2024).
  6. African airlines saw a 0.3% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity was up 0.3% year-on-year. The load factor was 74.6% (-0.5 ppt compared to June 2024). The decline in African load factor may be due to increased competition from European and Middle Eastern carriers.

Domestic Passenger Markets

Domestic RPK rose 1.6% over June 2024 and load factor fell by 0.4 ppt to 84.7% on the back of a 2.1% capacity expansion. Brazil was the standout performer, and the US domestic market saw a very slight expansion for the first time in four months.

World share¹RPKASKPLF (%-pt)PLF (level)
Domestic38.2%1.6%2.1%-0.4%84.7%
Dom. Australia0.8%0.9%1.5%-0.5%81.1%
Dom. Brazil1.1%14.7%17.0%-1.7%83.0%
Dom. China P.R.11.3%3.8%3.0%0.6%83.1%
Dom. India1.7%5.4%9.0%-2.9%84.3%
Dom. Japan1.0%2.9%-0.3%2.3%75.3%
Dom. US14.4%0.1%1.8%-1.5%86.0%

¹% of industry RPKs in 2024

Note: the six domestic passenger markets for which broken-down data are available account for approximately 30.2% of global total RPKs and 79.1% of total domestic RPKs

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