African airlines outperform global passenger demand in July

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International RPK fell 0.1%, with capacity rising 0.3%. However, excluding Middle Eastern carriers, total international demand rose 1.5%.

African airlines saw a 6.4% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 9.0% year on year, while the load factor was 74.1%, down 1.8 percentage points compared with July 2025.

Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 0.7% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity decreased 1.7% year on year, and the load factor was 84.5%, up 0.9 percentage points compared with July 2025.

European carriers saw a 3.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity rose 3.2% year on year, and the load factor was 87.1%, down 0.1 percentage points compared with July 2025. Passenger traffic between Europe and Asia grew 12.1%, representing the strongest expansion of any major international corridor.

North American carriers saw a decrease in demand of 2.3% year on year. Capacity decreased a similar 2.3%, while the load factor was 88.2%, unchanged from July 2025. The key transatlantic corridor fell by 2.2%, with notable declines in traffic from the UK, France and Spain.

Middle Eastern carriers saw a 9.5% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity fell 5.8% and the load factor was 80.9%, down 3.3 percentage points from July 2025. The decline in traffic continues to moderate after the double-digit fall earlier in the year.

Latin American airlines achieved a 7.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 7.2%, while the load factor was 85.7%, down 0.1 percentage points from July 2025.

Domestic demand edges higher

Domestic RPK grew 0.6% in July 2026 compared with the same month last year. China and Brazil recorded strong growth, while the United States, Australia and India saw declines.

China's domestic passenger demand increased 5.3% year on year, while Brazil recorded growth of 6.0%. Domestic demand fell 0.5% in both Australia and the United States, and declined 6.3% in India.

“The peak Northern summer travel season is a mostly positive story for air travel. Overall growth of 0.2% in July was achieved despite year-on-year collective declines by carriers in North America and the Middle East. Notably, traffic through the Gulf hubs continues its recovery trajectory.

"Although high fuel costs, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions continue, carriers are expressing confidence in demand for the last part of the year with an almost 3% expansion of seat capacity in September,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, Iata’s senior vice president sustainability, and chief economist.