The world’s airlines are flying higher than they’ve ever dared. New figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show August passenger demand is up a steady 4.6% year-on-year, even as economic jitters and geopolitical frictions try to play spoilsport.
Measured in the trade’s favoured metric, revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), the August surge saw carriers lift more travellers and squeeze record efficiency from their fleets. With capacity (ASKs) expanding 4.5%, the world’s airlines still hit an August load factor of 86%, the highest since records began.
As IATA Director General Willie Walsh wryly noted:
“Planes were operating with more seats filled than ever a record 86%. Despite the world’s economic uncertainties and ongoing political tensions, global demand growth shows no sign of abating.”
International travel sets the pace
If domestic flying provided a steady baseline, international travel drove the party. International demand jumped 6.6% on last year, accounting for a thumping 87% of the net global increase. Carriers matched that appetite with a 6.5% lift in capacity, holding the international load factor at a remarkably healthy 85.8%.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
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Asia-Pacific led the world, notching up a blistering 9.8% demand growth as China and Japan fuelled the surge (+11.8% and +12% respectively). Load factors stayed near-perfect at 85.1%.
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The Middle East kept pace, with demand up 8.2%, aided by long-haul hub carriers capitalising on global connectivity.
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Latin America came in hot at 9.0% growth, despite capacity stretching even faster at 9.3%.
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Africa was too impressed, with demand up by 7.1% and load factors rising more than a whole point to 79.7%.
Europe’s growth was more modest at 5.3%, while North America, usually the yardstick for global aviation health, managed just 1.8% growth in international demand. Load factors actually slid for the fourth consecutive month.
Domestic markets: mixed fortunes
Domestic aviation, by contrast, looked like the slightly less glamorous cousin. Global domestic demand grew just 1.5%, contributing only 13% of August’s net RPK growth, down from a quarter last year.
The standouts:
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Brazil lit up the scoreboard with a 12.7% demand surge, powered by government tourism initiatives and a buoyant local market.
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Japan proved rock-solid, posting 6.0% growth and a load factor nudging a stellar 89.6% – the world’s best.
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China delivered 3.4% growth, steadying after a volatile few years.
But elsewhere, the mood was flat. Australia barely moved the needle with 0.4% growth, while the US domestic market contracted by 0.2%, continuing an eight-month streak of load factor decline.
A season to remember
Walsh pointed out that August marked the peak of the northern summer travel season, traditionally the make-or-break season for many airlines. He suggested that the results speak volumes.
“This is a record-breaking summer season. Airlines are sweating their assets like never before, and schedules for October show another 3.4% capacity increase. The challenge is for the aerospace supply chain to keep up.”
His comments allude to a sore point. With demand soaring, manufacturers are under pressure to fix supply bottlenecks and deliver aircraft, engines and parts on time. This issue has dogged both Airbus and Boeing in recent months.
Why it matters
For the travelling public, the numbers translate into two blunt truths:
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Planes are fuller than ever. That means fewer empty middle seats, more upgrade competition, and busier airports.
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Airfares are unlikely to soften. With demand rising and airlines running at such high efficiency, the industry has little incentive to discount aggressively.
From an industry perspective, the data confirms aviation’s resilience. Despite inflationary shocks, oil price volatility, and no shortage of geopolitical headaches, people are still willing to fly for business, leisure, or both.
Asia-Pacific: the star turn
For readers closer to home, Asia-Pacific remains the most exciting story. Accounting for one-third of all global RPKs, the region’s momentum reflects the reopening of Japan, robust outbound demand from China, and Australians’ ongoing love affair with overseas holidays.
Add the rising tide of intra-Asia travel from Seoul to Singapore, Bangkok to Bali, and the numbers suggest the region will remain the beating heart of international aviation growth into 2026.
The bottom line
Air travel is back, and it’s breaking records. Airlines have emerged from the turbulence of the pandemic era not only intact but flying fuller and farther. With load factors setting fresh benchmarks and demand climbing steadily, the industry appears to be strapping in for another year of growth.
As Walsh dryly concluded, “Global demand shows no sign of abating.”
And for travellers, buckle up, the skies are only getting busier.
By Stephen Morton
BIO:
Stephen Morton has spent nearly five decades shaping how the travel industry works, talks, and sells itself. From the family-run agency of 1976 to today’s digital frontier, Morton has been at the front of the queue, often long before anyone else knew there was a queue.
By the mid-nineties, he dragged Agents Support Systems online while the industry still worshipped the fax machine. In 2001, he launched e-Travel Blackboard (eTB), a daily newsletter that became Australia’s most read industry bulletin and expanded across New Zealand, Asia, the Americas, and into MICE.
In 2009, Global Travel Media was founded, and it went on to win multiple international awards for Best Travel Industry Website and Outstanding Digital Media Service. Later came Destination Thailand News, Global Cruise News, and now, in 2025, GTM Holidays and the forthcoming GTM Mall.
Whether lecturing students or launching titles, Morton has always been ahead of the curve, a travel industry stalwart who has turned instinct into impact.
