Overview

• IATA reported global passenger demand up 4.6% year over year in August with a record August load factor of 86.0% as capacity rose 4.5%.
• Global air cargo demand increased 4.1% for a sixth consecutive month, with cargo capacity up 3.7% compared with August 2024.
• Asia-Pacific outperformed peers, with international passenger demand up 9.8% and cargo up 9.8%, while AAPA carriers flew 34.3 million international passengers (+8.8%) at an 82.9% load factor.
• Freight flows are tilting away from North America, with Europe–Asia and within-Asia corridors recording double-digit growth and Asia–North America down about 2.2%.
• Lower jet fuel prices and a firmer manufacturing PMI supported August results, as Hong Kong backlogs from Typhoon Ragasa and a U.S. government shutdown raise near-term disruption risks.