Categories: Travel

Global air travel rises 3.3% in March, capacity outpaces demand: IATA, ET TravelWorld

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has reported a 3.3% year-on-year growth in global air passenger demand for March 2025, a modest uptick from the 2.7% growth seen in February. However, passenger capacity grew at a faster pace of 5.3%, leading to a decline in the average global load factor to 80.7%, down 1.6 percentage points from the same period last year.

Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, cautioned that while the overall trend remains positive, the faster capacity expansion and resulting lower load factors warrant close monitoring. “March numbers continued to show a global pattern of growth for air travel. That means the challenges associated with accommodating more people who need to travel—specifically alleviating supply chain problems and ensuring sufficient airport and air traffic management capacity—remain urgent,” he noted.

Regional and Domestic Market Highlights
Among global regions, Asia-Pacific carriers led international growth with a 9.9% rise in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK). European airlines posted a 4.9% increase, while Latin America grew 7.7%. In contrast, the Middle East and North America saw small declines of 1.0% and 0.1% respectively, with the former likely influenced by Ramadan.

Domestic markets grew by just 0.9%, heavily impacted by a 1.7% drop in U.S. domestic demand and a 1.2% contraction in Australia. However, India and Brazil offset these losses with strong growth of 11.0% and 8.9% respectively. Japan also reported an 8.0% increase. India’s domestic load factor reached 83.3%, indicating robust demand.

International travel saw a robust 10.1 per cent increase in demand year-on-year, with capacity growing by 10.5 per cent. However, the international load factor slightly decreased to 85.9 per cent, down by 0.3 percentage points. Asia-Pacific airlines led the surge with a remarkable 19.1 per cent growth in demand, driven by the ongoing recovery of regional markets and a 20.3 per cent increase in capacity. European carriers also performed well, with an 8.3 per cent increase in demand and a load factor of 87.5 per cent.

Load Factor Trends
The load factor – a key measure of efficiency – declined across nearly all regions. Asia-Pacific had the highest international load factor at 84.1%, while the Middle East reported the lowest at 74.6%. Domestic Japan recorded the strongest performance at 84.4%, while Africa’s international load factor remained lowest at 71.5%.Outlook and Challenges
IATA attributed the slowing growth in international RPK—down from 12.5% in January to 4.9% in March—to the normalization of post-COVID comparisons. With tariff concerns and economic uncertainties looming, IATA suggested that regional trends, particularly the negative demand shifts in North America, should be closely watched.

Despite challenges, the industry’s long-term outlook remains positive, with emphasis on resolving bottlenecks in infrastructure and air traffic management to support growing demand.