Demand for air travel is climbing despite the conflict in the Middle East, as all regions report rises in demand except for the conflict zone, where demand has taken a dive.
The International Air Transport Association data shows international demand fell 0.6% and capacity was down 6.2% in Mar 2026, compared to Mar 2025.
This decline in international traffic is led by a 60.8% fall in traffic by carriers in the Middle East, which IATA director general Willie Walsh says restrained global growth to 2.1%.
Outside of the Middle East, Walsh says demand was up 8%, led by African airlines, which boasted a 19.2% year-on-year demand increase.
Latin American airlines achieved a 12.1% year-on-year increase in demand, says IATA while Asia Pacific was up 11.5%, Europe 7.7% and North America 3.7%.
. . . Domestic
Total domestic Mar travel too was in growth mode with demand up 6.5% on Mar 2025, and capacity increasing 5.6% year-on-year. China and Brazil lead the pack with double-digit expansion, says IATA, while Australia and Japan also showing notably stronger growth.
. . . Outlook Uncertain
The aviation outlook is uncertain as Walsh notes the sector is keeping a close eye on the price and supply of jet fuel, and he warns that there could be shortages in parts of the world with high dependence on supplies from the Gulf, especially Asia and Europe in the next few months.
The extraordinarily high cost of jet fuel is increasingly being reflected in ticket prices, he adds, and while this has not impacted traffic or forward bookings to date, he says it remains to be seen at what point high prices could start to shift passenger behaviour.
“So far, the [northern] summer is shaping up to be a normally busy time for travel,” states the IATA boss. “That’s positive news but stabilising the supply and price of fuel is crucial.”
