The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for October 2025 global passenger demand, showing a strong month for air travel with an acceleration in year-on-year growth.
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Total Demand (measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometers or RPKs) rose by 6.6% compared to October 2024.
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Total Capacity (Available Seat Kilometers or ASKs) was up 5.8% year-on-year.
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The October Load Factor (percentage of seats filled) reached 84.6%, an increase of $0.7$ percentage points (ppt) compared to the previous year, marking a record high for the month.
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International Demand climbed 8.5%, significantly outperforming domestic demand.
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Domestic Demand increased by 3.4%.
International passenger markets were the primary driver of growth in October, with demand rising 8.5% year-on-year. This strong performance was underscored by double-digit RPK growth in two key regions:
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Asia-Pacific airlines led the surge with a 10.9% increase in demand, driven by robust expansions in traffic to/from China, Japan, and Vietnam. The region’s load factor improved by $1.4$ ppt to 84.4%.
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Middle Eastern carriers followed closely with 10.7% growth in demand, supported by a significant $2.0$ ppt improvement in the load factor, reaching 82.5%.
Other regional international performances included:
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European carriers: Demand up 7.4%, achieving the highest load factor at 86.5% ($+1.2$ ppt).
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African airlines: Demand up 7.3%, with a load factor of 74.1% ($+1.4$ ppt).
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Latin American airlines: Demand up 7.2%, with a load factor of 84.6% ($-0.8$ ppt).
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North American carriers: Demand up 4.5%, a notable improvement after several months of flat performance. The load factor was 84.2% ($-0.1$ ppt).
While total domestic demand grew at a more moderate 3.4%, with the domestic load factor slightly declining by $0.1$ ppt to 84.6%, the market saw several strong individual performances:
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Brazil was the clear standout, recording a massive domestic growth of 12.4%.
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The US domestic market returned to modest growth following two consecutive months of contraction.
“October was a strong month for air travel, with demand up 6.6% on the previous year,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. “Of particular note is the 4.5% international traffic growth for carriers based in North America, which comes after several months of basically flat performance.”
Mr. Walsh also highlighted the encouraging outlook for the remainder of the year: “The trends for the rest of the year look encouraging: scheduled seat capacity in November is set to expand by 3.6% and in December by 4.7%. 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.”
