IATA says Middle East war drove April global air passenger demand down 3.4%

The International Air Transport Association said global passenger demand fell 3.4% in April 2026 compared with April 2025, as war in the Middle East sharply reduced traffic on regional carriers and weighed on the worldwide market. Total capacity fell 2.9% year on year, and the overall load factor was 83.1%, down 0.4 percentage points from April 2025.

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IATA said demand excluding the Middle East rose 1.2%, showing that the global decline was concentrated in the region. International demand fell 5.3% year on year, while domestic demand was flat.

Capacity on international routes fell 5.1% and the international load factor was 83.9%, down 0.2 percentage points. The association said carriers in the Middle East recorded a 46.6% fall in demand because of war in the region, describing the drop as severe enough to pull global demand down.

Middle Eastern carriers saw a 48.1% year-on-year decline in demand, capacity fell 38.4%, and the load factor dropped to 70.1%, down 13.1 percentage points from April 2025. IATA said the decline slowed slightly compared with March as an uneasy ceasefire came into effect.

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IATA Director General Willie Walsh said the situation for air transport remained highly volatile. He said the cost of jet fuel more than doubled in April, pushing airfares up, and said forward schedule data showed reduced offering in the coming months as airlines balanced high fuel costs and weaker demand.

By region, Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 3.0% increase in demand, with load factor at a record April high of 87.5%. European carriers reported 0.9% demand growth and North American carriers were flat.

IATA also said there was a notable slowdown in traffic on the Japan-China corridor because of ongoing political tensions.

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Image Credit: 360LiveNews

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