IATA Reports June Passenger Demand Down 1.7%

by Bruce Parkinson July 30, 2026

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for June 2026 global passenger demand, revealing that total demand dropped 1.7% compared to June 2025.

Excluding the Middle East, demand declined by 0.6%. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), decreased 1.3% year-on-year. The load factor was 84.2% (-0.4 ppt compared to June 2025).

International demand fell 0.9% compared to June 2025. Excluding the Middle East, demand actually grew by 1.1%. Capacity was down 0.6% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.2% (-0.2 ppt compared to June 2025).

Domestic demand contracted 3.0% compared to June 2025. Capacity decreased 2.4% year-on-year and the load factor was 84.0% (-0.5 ppt compared to June 2025).

*IATA Director General Willie Walsh is nearing the end of his run as leader.*

“Global demand for air travel was down 1.7% in June compared to 2025. This is largely due to domestic market declines in China, the US, and Japan, and weak but improving international demand for Middle East carriers,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

While Middle East performance improved in June, Walsh noted that the recent renewed tensions will not help the region’s recovery and the knock-on impact of rising fuel prices will continue to batter travellers with higher airfares.

“People continue to travel, which is an important contributor to global economic growth. There is no doubt, however, that stabilizing the situation in the Middle East and normalizing oil supplies would improve prospects for airlines, economies, and societies the world over,” Walsh added.

Middle Eastern carriers saw a 14% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity fell 11% year-on-year, and the load factor was 76.3% (-2.6 ppt compared to June 2025). The impacts of the Iran war continue to cause a highly negative year-on-year traffic comparison, but the rate of decline has halved month-to-month since April.

Here in North America, carriers saw a decrease in demand of 1.0% year-on-year. Capacity decreased 0.7% year-on-year, and the load factor was 86.9% (-0.3 ppt compared to June 2025).

*Saadia Zahidi will become IATA’s 1st female Director General on November 1.*

Walsh is winding up a long run as IATA’s DG on July 31. The IATA Board of Directors has appointed Sandrine Le Borgne, IATA’s Chief Financial Officer and SVP for Corporate Services, as Interim Director General until November 1, when Saadia Zahidi becomes the airline organization’s first female Director General.