The year-over-year declines in demand and capacity for Middle East carriers seem to have begun to ease, according to the latest monthly report from the International Air Transport Association.
Still, September demand, as measured in revenue passenger kilometres, for the region was down 8 per cent year over year, and coupled with a decline also in North America (1.6 per cent), global air demand decreased 0.5 per cent year over year, while global capacity, as measured in available seat kilometres, dipped 0.2 per cent.
Passenger load factor declined 0.3 percentage points to 83.2 per cent. Excluding the Middle East, September global air demand increased 0.3 per cent year over year.
September international demand increased 0.4 per cent year over year, but excluding the Middle East, it was up 1.7 per cent. International capacity increased 0.5 per cent, while the load factor was down 0.1 percentage points to 83.6 per cent.
Domestic traffic in September fell 2.2 per cent year over year, while capacity decreased 1.3 per cent. The load factor was down 0.7 percentage points to 82.5 per cent.
Though total demand was down, "this was an improvement from August, with a welcome return to growth in most international markets," IATA SVP of sustainability and chief economist Marie Owens Thomsen said in a statement.
"Global scheduled seat capacity is expected to remain above 2025 levels in October and November, but the rates of growth remain weak and highly unbalanced between regions."
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The regions with the highest September total air demand percentage growth were Africa, up 5 per cent year over year, and Latin America and the Caribbean, up 4.3 per cent. Those regions led in capacity growth at 7.7 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively.
Europe was mainly flat, with demand up 0.3 per cent and capacity down 0.1 per cent, as was Asia-Pacific, which saw traffic up 0.5 per cent and capacity increase 0.1 per cent. Middle East capacity dropped 3.8 per cent, while North American capacity declined 1.3 per cent.
September international demand growth was highest in Latin America and the Caribbean, up 8.2 per cent year over year, followed by Africa with an 8 per cent increase. The capacity for each region increased 7.6 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively. North America was flat for demand and down 1.9 per cent for capacity.
The domestic markets in September were mixed. India had the sharpest traffic and capacity declines, at 8.3 per cent and 7.9 per cent year over year, respectively. The US and Japan were also down for each metric. Though Australia had the highest demand growth rate at 4.5 per cent year over year, its capacity declined 0.9 per cent.