The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its global passenger demand report for May 2025 today, 1st July.
Per this latest report, total passenger demand as measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up five percent compared to May of last year.
Meanwhile, total capacity in available seat kilometers (ASK) also rose five percent year-on-year, while load factor was at 83.4 percent.
IATA director-general Willie Walsh pointed out that air travel demand growth on the global level was uneven throughout May.
Walsh said: “Globally, the industry reported percent growth with Asia-Pacific taking the lead at 9.4 percent. The outlier was North America which reported a 0.5 percent decline, led by a 1.7 percent fall in the US domestic market. Severe disruptions in the Middle East in late June remind us that geopolitical instability remains a challenge in some regions as airlines maintain safe operations with minimal passenger inconvenience. The impact of such instability on oil prices, which remained low throughout May, is also a critical factor to monitor. Importantly, consumer confidence appears to be strong with forward bookings for the peak Northern summer travel season, giving good reason for optimism.”
How markets fared in May
International demand rose by 6.7 percent from where it was in the same period last year, and capacity increased by 6.4 percent year-on-year while load factor was a record for May at 83.2 percent.
Traffic expansion on most key international routes to the Americas slowed in May, apart from Transatlantic with a modest 2.5 percent year-on-year increase.
Performance per region is as follows:
- Asia-Pacific airlines achieved a 13.3% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 10.6% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.0% (+2.0 ppt compared to May 2024).
- European carriers had a 4.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 4.8% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.0% (-0.6 ppt compared to May 2024).
- North American carriers saw a 1.4% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 1.7% year-on-year, and the load factor was 83.8% (-0.3 ppt compared to May 2024).
- Middle Eastern carriers saw a 6.2% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 6.3% year-on-year, and the load factor was 80.9% (-0.1 ppt compared to May 2024).
- Latin American airlines saw an 8.8% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 11.0% year-on-year. The load factor was 83.6% (-1.7 ppt compared to May 2024).
- African airlines saw a 9.5% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 6.2% year-on-year. The load factor was 74.9% (+2.2 ppt compared to May 2024). Africa-Asia is the fastest-growing international corridor, with an expansion of 15.9%.
With regard to domestic demand, numbers were up 2.1 percent from May 2024, with capacity up 2.8 percent year-on-year and load factor at 83.7 percent.
All regions showed growth except in the United States, due to economic slowdown and reductions in government travel.
Chinese domestic travel growth accelerated, as it has been doing every month since March.
Also notable is Brazil’s strong growth, on the back of unbroken expansion since January 2023.
