Global Air Passenger Demand Fell 2.2% in May Due to Middle East Crisis

• African airlines records 8.9% increase

Chinedu Eze

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for May 2026 global passenger demand indicating that total demand was down 2.2 percent compared to the same period last year.

But despite the global fall in passenger demand, African airlines saw an 8.9% year-on-year increase in demand, as capacity was up 8.3 percent year-on-year and the load factor was 73.4 percent (+0.4 ppt compared to May 2025).

The global body revealed that total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) was down, adding that excluding the Middle East, demand grew by 0.7 percent in other parts of the world and the total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), decreased 2.3 percent year-on-year. The load factor was 83.5 percent (+0.1 ppt compared to May 2025), a record high for May.