Global demand for air travel is expected to remain “strong” for the rest of the year after the sector recorded a 6.6 per cent year-on-year increase in traffic during October, according to the latest figures from IATA (International Air Transport Association).
The association said that October’s demand had been boosted by a 4.5 per cent rise in international traffic for North American airlines, which came after “several months of basically flat performance”. Transatlantic traffic for North American carriers was up by 3.8 per cent year-on-year.
Worldwide international demand was particularly strong during October, with an 8.5 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), while domestic traffic recorded a more modest increase of 3.4 per cent.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, said: “The trends for the rest of the year look encouraging: scheduled seat capacity in November is set to expand 3.6 per cent and in December by 4.7 per cent.
“This points to strong demand for holiday travel and businesses looking to complete deals by the end of the year. Considering the uncertainty in the economic outlook for 2026, the resilience of demand for air travel, with the jobs and growth it brings, is a bright spot that governments should nurture with care.”
The overall European aviation market saw a 6.7 per cent year-on-year increase in traffic during October on the back of a 5.4 per cent expansion in capacity. This helped to boost load factor to 87 per cent, which was a 1.1 percentage point improvement on October 2024’s performance.
European airlines enjoyed a 7.4 per cent year-on-year rise in demand in the month as they increased capacity by 6 per cent year-on-year. Load factor increased by 1.2 points to 86.5 per cent.