(Posted 01st August 2025)
On a year-on-year comparative basis, during June 2025, Africa’s market for international flights within the continent and to other regions was characterised by:
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demand decreasing by -0.3% year-on-year
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capacity expanding by 0.3%
- achieving a 74.6% Passenger Load Factor (percentage of the capacity that was sold in the market)
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this was down -0.6 ppt compared to June 2024.
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0.8% overall rise in demand
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with a 1.5% increase in capacity
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for a -0.6ppt easing in the Passenger Load Factor, which averaged 74.6%
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for June 2025 global passenger demand with the following highlights:
- Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 2.6% compared to June 2024. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was also up 3.4% year-on-year. The June load factor was 84.5% (-0.6 ppt compared to June 2024).
- International demand rose 3.2% compared to June 2024. Capacity was up 4.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.4% (-0.8 ppt compared to June 2024).
- Domestic demand increased 1.6% compared to June 2024. Capacity was up 2.1% year-on-year. The load factor was 84.7% (-0.4 ppt compared to June 2024).
“In June, demand for air travel grew by 2.6%. That’s a slower pace than we have seen in previous months and reflects disruptions around military conflict in the Middle East. With demand growth lagging the 3.4% capacity expansion, load factors dipped 0.6 percentage points from their all-time record-high levels. At 84.5% globally, however, load factors are still very strong. And with a modest 1.8% capacity growth visible in August schedules, load factors over the Northern summer are unlikely to stray far from their recent historic highs,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
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Air passenger market in detail – June 2025 |
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| World share, %1 |
June 2025 (year-on-year, %) | ||||||
| RPK | ASK | PLF (%-pt) | PLF (level) | ||||
| TOTAL MARKET | 100 | 2.6 | 3.4 | -0.6 | 84.5 | ||
| Africa | 2.2 | 0.8 | 1.5 | -0.6 | 74.6 | ||
| Asia Pacific | 33.5 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 0.3 | 83.0 | ||
| Europe | 26.7 | 2.2 | 2.6 | -0.3 | 87.8 | ||
| Latin America and Caribbean | 5.3 | 7.9 | 9.6 | -1.3 | 82.9 | ||
| Middle East | 9.4 | -0.2 | 1.6 | -1.4 | 78.3 | ||
| North America | 22.9 | 0.1 | 2.1 | -1.7 | 86.4 | ||
| 1 % of industry RPK in 2024 | |||||||
International Passenger Markets by Region
International RPK growth reached 3.2% in June year-on-year, but load factor fell across all regions as capacity growth outstripped demand. The steepest fall in RPK growth from May was in the Middle East, where international traffic contracted 0.4% year-on-year, impacted by military conflict.
Asia-Pacific airlines achieved a 7.2% year-on-year increase indemand. Capacity increased 7.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 82.9% (-0.2 ppt compared to June 2024).
European carriers had a 2.8% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 3.3% year-on-year, and the load factor was 87.4% (-0.4 ppt compared to June 2024).
North American carriers saw a 0.3% year-on-year fall in demand. Capacity increased 2.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 86.9% (-2.2 ppt compared to June 2024).
Middle Eastern carriers saw a 0.4% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity increased 1.1% year-on-year, and the load factor was 78.7% (-1.2 ppt compared to June 2024). Military conflict particularly impacted traffic on routes to North America (-7.0% year-on-year) and Europe (-4.4% year-on-year).
Latin American airlines saw a 9.3% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 11.8% year-on-year. The load factor was 83.3% (-1.9 ppt compared to June 2024).
African airlines saw a 0.3% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity was up 0.3% year-on-year. The load factor was 74.6% (-0.5 ppt compared to June 2024). The decline in African load factor may be due to increased competition from European and Middle Eastern carriers.
Domestic Passenger Markets
Domestic RPK rose 1.6% over June 2024 and load factor fell by 0.4 ppt to 84.7% on the back of a 2.1% capacity expansion. Brazil was the standout performer, and the US domestic market saw a very slight expansion for the first time in four months.
| World share, %1 |
June 2025 (year-on-year, %) | ||||||
| RPK | ASK | PLF (%-pt) | PLF (level) | ||||
| Domestic | 38.2 | 1.6 | 2.1 | -0.4 | 84.7 | ||
| Dom. Australia | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.5 | -0.5 | 81.1 | ||
| Dom. Brazil | 1.1 | 14.7 | 17.0 | -1.7 | 83.0 | ||
| Dom. China P.R. | 11.3 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 83.1 | ||
| Dom. India | 1.7 | 5.4 | 9.0 | -2.9 | 84.3 | ||
| Dom. Japan | 1.0 | 2.9 | -0.3 | 2.3 | 75.3 | ||
| Dom. United States | 14.4
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0.1 | 1.8 | -1.5 | 86.0 | ||
| 1 % of industry RPK in 2024 | |||||||
| Note: the six domestic passenger markets for which broken-down data are available account for approximately 30.2% of global total RPKs and 79.1% of total domestic RPKs | |||||||
