The global air passenger demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 8% in April 2025, compared to April 2024, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) data.
\nTotal capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was up 6.5% year-on-year. The April load factor was 83.6% (+1.1 ppt compared to April 2024).
\nMiddle Eastern carriers saw an 11.2% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 6.6% year-on-year and the load factor was 83.1% (+3.4 ppt compared to April 2024).
\nGlobally, international demand rose 10.8% compared to April 2024. Capacity was up 8.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.1% (+1.7 ppt compared to April 2024), the highest ever for April.
\nDomestic demand increased 3.3% compared to April 2024 and capacity was up 3.1% year-on-year. The load factor was 82.7% (+0.1 ppt compared to April 2024).
\n\u201cApril was a positive month for travel. Growth strengthened, especially for international demand which saw record load factors for the month. The return of the transatlantic market to growth is particularly encouraging. But there are some signs of fragility of consumer and business confidence with continued weakness in the US domestic market and a sharp fall in North American premium class travel,\u201d said Willie Walsh, IATA\u2019s Director General.
\n\u201cAs we gather in New Delhi, India for the 81st IATA Annual General Meeting and World Air Transport Summit, it is notable that Indian domestic growth is running at over 10%. The development of India\u2019s air connectivity in recent years has been nothing short of phenomenal, making this year\u2019s gathering a timely and powerful reminder for all on how aviation connectivity drives growth and development,\u201d said Walsh.
\nRegional breakdown – international passenger markets
\nInternational RPK growth accelerated to 10.8% in April year-on-year, with growth in all regions and load factors increasing everywhere except a slight fall in Latin America. Africa resumed growth after two months of declines, and North American international RPK grew (+5.4%), but suffered a 26% fall in First and Business class travel.
\nAsia-Pacific airlines achieved a 14.4% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 12.7% year-on-year and the load factor was 85.3% (+1.3 ppt compared to April 2024).
\nEuropean carriers had a 9.4% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 7.7% year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.5% (+1.3 ppt compared to April 2024).
\nNorth American carriers saw a 5.4% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 2.6% year-on-year, and the load factor was 83.4% (+2.2 ppt compared to April 2024).
\nLatin American airlines saw a 13.9% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 14.6% year-on-year. The load factor was 83.2% (-0.6 ppt compared to April 2024).
\nAfrican airlines saw a 13.6% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 8.9% year-on-year. The load factor was 76.3% (+3.1 ppt compared to April 2024).
\nDomestic passenger markets
\nDomestic RPK rose 3.3% over April 2024 and load factor increased just 0.1 ppt to 82.7% on the back of 3.1% capacity expansion. Domestic US traffic was the only market to contract (-0.5%) for a third straight month of decline, while India and Brazil expanded at a double-digit pace. India\u2019s capacity expansion was even faster, leading to a slight fall in load factor, but its PLF is still the highest of the major domestic markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The global air passenger demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 8% in April 2025, compared to April 2024, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA) data. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), was up 6.5% year-on-year. The April load factor was 83.6% (+1.1 ppt compared to April 2024). Middle Eastern …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":null,"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[96,98,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-companies","category-featured-en"],"yoast_head":"\n