Overview
- Airline capacity grew 5.4% in November and the passenger load factor reached a record 83.7% for the month, IATA reported.
- International passenger demand rose 7.7% with an 84.0% load factor, while domestic markets increased 2.7% overall, reflecting uneven country performance.
- Asia-Pacific demand climbed 9.3% and Africa led with 11.2% growth, as North American carriers posted softer results with a tenth straight monthly load-factor decline; China–Japan traffic slowed to single-digit growth.
- India’s domestic traffic increased 7.7% with capacity up 8.7% and an 88.5% load factor, Brazil also grew strongly, and U.S. domestic demand fell 1.8%, which IATA suggested may relate to the government shutdown.
- Global air cargo demand rose 5.5% with capacity up 4.7%, boosted by holiday shipping and trade re-routing, including the first Asia–North America gain since April (+1.8%), as IATA called on manufacturers to reduce the aircraft order backlog.