Global air passenger demand fell 0.8% in August as Middle East traffic declined
IATA said global passenger demand fell year-on-year in August 2026, while demand excluding Middle Eastern carriers rose 0.6%.
Nicosia, Cyprus. Global air passenger demand fell by 0.8% year-on-year in August 2026 as a sharp contraction in the Middle East weighed on traffic, according to figures released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Excluding Middle Eastern carriers, demand rose by 0.6% from August 2025.
Capacity and load factors
Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres, increased by 0.3%, while the global passenger load factor fell by 0.9 percentage points to 85.1%.
International passenger demand declined by 0.9% year-on-year, but rose by 1.3% when the Middle East was excluded. International capacity was unchanged, while the load factor slipped by 0.8 percentage points to 85%.
Domestic demand fell by 0.5% despite a 0.7% increase in capacity. The domestic load factor declined by 1.1 percentage points to 85.3%.
Middle East contraction
IATA senior vice president for sustainability and chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen said the recovery of Middle Eastern carriers had been interrupted. Their demand fell by 14.6% year-on-year, reversing an improving trend.
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