On July 31, 2025, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for June 2025 global passenger demand, which indicated a decline in the number of air travel passengers and demand.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) data for June 2025 highlighted:
- Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), was up 2.6% as compared to June 2024. But the load factor indicated a decline by 0.6 percentage points.
- The international demand increased by 3.2% compared to June 2024. Whereas the capacity increased by 4.2% over the past year, the load factor saw a decrease of 0.8 percentage points.
- The domestic demand increased 1.6% as compared to June 2024, but the load factor dropped by 0.4 percentage points.
Regional Breakdown of the International Passenger Market
The International RPK was increased by up to 3.2% in June every year, but the load factor dropped across all regions, which exceeded demand. Due to the military conflict in the Middle East, the RPK’s growth was severely affected in May.
Asia Pacific airlines attained a 7.2% increase in demand, whereas the capacity increased 7.5% year on year. But the load factor dropped by 0.2 percentage points compared to June 2024.
European carriers’ demand increased by 2.8%, whereas the capacity increased by 3.3%, but the load factor dropped by 2.2 percentage points compared to June 2024.
North American carriers’ demand decreased by 0.3%, whereas the capacity increased by 2.2% and the load factor dropped by 2.2 percentage points as compared to June 2024.
The Middle Eastern carriers’ demand decreased by 0.4%, whereas capacity increased 1.1% year on year, and the load factor decreased by 1.9 percentage points. This is mainly due to the military conflict, which impacted the traffic routes to North America and Europe.
Latin American airlines saw a 9.3% increase in demand, along with a capacity increase of 11.8% year on year, whereas the load factor was 83.3% (a fall of 1.9 percentage points).
African airlines’ demand decreased by 0.3%, whereas the capacity increased by 0.3%. But the load factor dropped by 0.5 percentage points compared to June 2024. The reason behind the decline in demand of African airlines may be due to increased competition from European and Middle Eastern carriers.
What do you think could be the reason for the decline in the number of international air travel passengers and demand? Let us know in the comments below!
