The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today announced global passenger demand data for September 2025, showing that total traffic, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK), rose by 3.6% compared to September 2024.
The growth was predominantly driven by strong performance in the international markets, which saw RPKs rise by 5.1%. Overall capacity (Available Seat Kilometers/ASK) grew by 3.7% year-on-year, keeping the global passenger load factor exceptionally strong at 83.4% (a marginal decline of 0.1 percentage point).
“Solid international demand drove 90% of September’s 3.6% overall growth. Importantly, the capacity expansion slightly nudged ahead of demand growth at 3.7%. Load factors, nonetheless, remained very strong at 83.4%. With November flight schedules indicating a 3% expansion on the previous year, airlines are gearing up for continued growth into the year-end holiday season. This is despite the severe constraints of unresolved supply chain issues,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
International RPK growth of 5.1% was robust across all regions, with Asia-Pacific leading the way:
Asia-Pacific airlines posted the highest growth in demand at 7.4% year-on-year. Capacity increased by 6.1%, which led to a significant 1.0 percentage point improvement in load factor, reaching 83.3%. This surge was primarily driven by the strength of intra-Asia travel, especially traffic originating from China and Japan.
Middle Eastern carriers followed with strong demand growth of 6.3%.
Latin American and African airlines both saw demand increase by 5.3%.
European carriers reported a 4.0% increase in demand.
North American carriers saw the most modest demand increase at 2.5%, and their load factor declined by 1.5 percentage points to 82.9%. The North America-Asia corridor specifically showed weak growth, rising just 0.9%.
Domestic markets experienced sluggish growth, rising just 0.9% in September year-on-year, with capacity expanding by 1.1% and the load factor dropping 0.1 percentage point to 83.0%.
Brazil continues to be a standout performer, registering double-digit expansion.
In contrast, the decline in US domestic travel accelerated, dropping 1.7%, resulting in the weakest load factor among major domestic markets.
