In the report, African airlines saw a 19.2% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 4.2% year-on-year. The load factor was 77.7% (+9.8 ppt compared to March 2025).

Key Insights:

• Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 2.1% compared to March 2025. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), decreased 1.7% year-on-year. The load factor was 83.6% (+3.1 ppt compared to March 2025).
• International demand fell -0.6% compared to March 2025. Capacity was down -6.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.1% (+4.7 ppt compared to March 2025). The overall decline in international traffic was led by a -60.8% fall in traffic by carriers in the Middle East.
• Domestic demand increased 6.5% compared to March 2025. Capacity increased 5.6% year-on-year. The load factor was 83.0% (+0.7 ppt compared to March 2025).

Air passenger market in detail – March 2026

Regional Breakdown – International Passenger Markets

International RPK fell -0.6%, the first decline since March 2021. This fall was due to the major decrease in Middle East traffic. In contrast, other international markets grew by 9%, and the passenger load factor rose in all regions except the Middle East.

Asia-Pacific airlines achieved an 11.5% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 1.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 91.2% (+8.1 ppt compared to March 2025). Traffic in the region was boosted by the tail end of the Lunar New Year travel period, as well as international routes (with the exception of routes to the Middle East) enjoying double-digit expansion.

European carriers saw a 7.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 3.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 81.4% (+3.4 ppt compared to March 2025). Traffic between Europe and Asia surged 29.3% as direct services replaced traffic transiting through the Middle East.

North American carriers saw a 3.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 0.9% year-on-year, and the load factor was 85.5% (+2.3 ppt compared to March 2025). Transatlantic travel grew 3.3% and the growth rate between Asia and North America more than doubled compared to February.

Middle Eastern carriers saw a 60.8% year-on-year decrease in demand. Capacity decreased 56.9% year-on-year, and the load factor was 67.8% (-6.6 ppt compared to March 2025). These figures are a direct result of the US-Israel-Iran war, which closed much of the airspace in the region.

Latin American airlines achieved a 12.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 8.4% year-on-year. The load factor was 83.8% (+2.7 ppt compared to March 2025).

African airlines saw a 19.2% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 4.2% year-on-year. The load factor was 77.7% (+9.8 ppt compared to March 2025).

Domestic Passenger Markets

Domestic RPK rose by a robust 6.5% in March compared to March 2025, with capacity growth of 5.6%. China and Brazil once again led the pack with double-digit expansion, and Australia and Japan also showed notably stronger growth. Indian domestic traffic fell, perhaps as a result of fewer feeder flights to the hubs serving the Middle East.

“Demand for air travel continued to grow in March despite disruptions in the Middle East. The nearly 61% decline in international traffic by carriers in the Middle East did, however, restrain global growth to 2.1%. Outside of the Middle East demand grew by 8%,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.

“Everybody’s watching what’s happening with jet fuel, both supply and pricing. On the supply side, over the next months we could see shortages in parts of the world with high dependence on supplies from the Gulf, especially Asia and Europe. And the extraordinarily high cost of jet fuel is increasingly being reflected in ticket prices. While this has not impacted March traffic or forward bookings to date, it remains to be seen at what point high prices could start to shift passenger behavior. So far, the summer is shaping up to be a normally busy time for travel. That’s positive news, but airline resilience is being tested and stabilizing the supply and price of fuel is crucial. In the meantime, it’s important for regulators to be prepared to grant airlines some flexibility on slots considering the extraordinary circumstances of airspace capacity restrictions and potential fuel rationing,” said Walsh.

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According to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Africa’s growth rate was nearly triple the global average of 5.5%. This marks the fifth consecutive month of double-digit expansion for the continent, solidifying its position as a high-growth corridor in the global aviation industry.

Key Performance Indicators (November 2025)

• Demand (CTK): African carriers saw a 15.6% YoY increase in Cargo Tonne-Kilometres, the strongest rise among all regions.
• Capacity (ACTK): To keep pace with surging demand, airlines on the continent increased their capacity by 18.1% YoY.
• Global Standing: Africa significantly outpaced the Asia-Pacific (up 10.3%) and Europe (up 5.8%), while North America (down 1.6%) and Latin America (down 4.8%) experienced contractions.

Drivers of the African Air Cargo Boom

The resilient end to 2025 for African air freight was largely driven by:

1. Robust Trade Lanes: Significant activity on the Africa–Asia trade lane remained a primary engine for growth as economic ties between the two regions deepened.
2. Strategic Re-routing: Shippers increasingly shifted to air freight for high-value goods to minimize risks associated with changing global trade patterns and potential tariff hikes.
3. Holiday Season Push: Shippers prioritized timely delivery in the lead-up to the year-end festive season, boosting overall volumes.

Industry Outlook for 2026

IATA Director General Willie Walsh noted that the strong performance in the fourth quarter of 2025 bodes well for the industry’s prospects in the new year.

“Air cargo demand was resilient as strategic re-routing of trade shaped performance across key markets,” Walsh stated. He further emphasized that the sustained double-digit growth in Africa reflects a broader trend of aviation resilience on the continent, which has also seen robust growth in passenger traffic.

However, the industry faces headwinds moving into 2026, including a 5.9% rise in jet fuel prices and ongoing manufacturing caution due to global tariff uncertainties.

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• Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 3.3% compared to March 2024. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was up 5.3% year-on-year. The March load factor was 80.7% (-1.6 ppt compared to March 2024).
• International demand rose 4.9% compared to March 2024. Capacity was up 7.0% year-on-year, and the load factor was 79.9% (-1.7 ppt compared to March 2024).
• Domestic demand increased 0.9% compared to March 2024. Capacity was up 2.5% year-on-year. The load factor was 82.0% (-1.3 ppt compared to March 2024).

Africa accounted for 2.2% of the total world passenger air travel market in March 2025.04.30

Key highlights

During March 2025, African airlines saw

• a 3.3% year-on-year increase in demand – on par with the global picture.
• A 3.5% y-o-y expansion of capacity (whereas the global market saw a greater, 5.3% capacity increase)
• Load factors falling by -0.2 percentage points y-o-y to a 70.1%  passenger load factor, i.e. less than three quarters of available seats were taken up by the market.  (this was lower than the 80.7% global average load factor).

“Passenger demand grew by 3.3% year-on-year in March, a slight strengthening from the 2.7% growth reported for February. A capacity expansion of 5.3%, however, outpaced the demand expansion leading to a load factor decline from record highs to 80.7% systemwide.

There remains a lot of speculation around the potential impacts of tariffs and other economic headwinds on travel.

While the small decline in demand in North America needs to be watched carefully, March numbers continued to show a global pattern of growth for air travel.

That means the challenges associated with accommodating more people who need to travel—specifically alleviating supply chain problems and ensuring sufficient airport and air traffic management capacity—remain urgent,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general.

Regional Breakdown – International Passenger Markets 

International RPK growth slowed to 4.9% in March year-on-year from the 5.9% reported for February and from the 12.5% reported in January.

This slowdown since January reflects in large part the final normalization of year-on-year demand comparisons post-COVID. Asia-Pacific was the strongest performer among regions with 9.9% growth.

Load factors fell in every region, for a -1.7 ppt overall decline.

Asia-Pacific airlines reported a 9.9% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 11.6% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.1% (-1.3 ppt compared to March 2024).

European carriers had a 4.9% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 6.9% year-on-year, and the load factor was 78.2% (-1.5 ppt compared to March 2024).

 Middle Eastern carriers saw a -1.0% year-on-year decline in demand. Capacity increased 2.8% year-on-year, and the load factor was 74.6% (-2.9 ppt compared to March 2024).

The decline in demand is likely related to the timing of Ramadan which impacts travel patterns.

North American carriers saw a -0.1% year-on-year fall in demand. Capacity increased 2.0% year-on-year, and the load factor was 83.0% (-1.8 ppt compared to March 2024). While demand had a second consecutive month of year-on-year contraction, it is important to note that this is an improvement on the -1.5% decline airlines saw a 7.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 12.1% year-on-year. The load factor was 80.9% (-3.3 ppt compared to March 2024).

African airlines airlines saw a 3.3% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 3.5% year-on-year. The load factor was 70.1% (-0.2 ppt compared to March 2024)

Domestic Passenger Markets 

Domestic air travel posted a marginal 0.9% gain, weighed down by declines in the US and Australian markets. Brazil and India reported the strongest growth at 8.9% and 11.0% respectively. Meanwhile, Australia (-1.2%) and the US (-1.7%) reported declines.

The load factor fell -1.3 ppt as domestic capacity expanded 2.5%.

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