Demand for holidays, business travel see African airlines' demand grow by 7.3%

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for October 2025 global passenger demand showing African airlines recorded a 7.3 percent year-on-year increase in demand on holiday and business travel.

Capacity was up 5.3 percent year-on-year. The load factor was 74.1percent (+1.4 ppt compared to October 2024).

Globally, total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 6.6 percent compared to October 2024. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was up 5.8 percent year-on-year. The October load factor was 84.6 percent (+0.7 ppt compared to October 2024).

International demand rose 8.5 percent compared to October 2024. Capacity was up 7.1 percent year-on-year, and the load factor was 84.6 percent (+1.1 ppt compared to October 2024).

Domestic demand increased 3.4 percent compared to October 2024. Capacity was up 3.6 percent year-on-year. The load factor was 84.6 percent (-0.1 ppt compared to October 2024).

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“October was a strong month for air travel with demand up 6.6 percent on the previous year. Of particular note is the 4.5 percent international traffic growth for carriers based in North America which comes after several months of basically flat performance. The trends for the rest of the year look encouraging: scheduled seat capacity in November is set to expand 3.6 percent and in December by 4.7 percent .

“This points to strong demand for holiday travel and businesses looking to complete deals by the end of the year. Considering the uncertainty in the economic outlook for 2026, the resilience of demand for air travel, with the jobs and growth it brings, is a bright spot that governments should nurture with care,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.

International RPK growth climbed to 8.5 percent in October year-on-year, with double-digit growth in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. All regions except the Americas saw load factors improve.

European carriers had a 7.4 percent year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 6.0 percent year-on-year, and the load factor was 86.5 percent (+1.2 ppt compared to October 2024).

Middle Eastern carriers saw a 10.7 percent year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 8.1 percent year-on-year, and the load factor was 82.5 percent (+2.0 ppt compared to October 2024). The Middle East’s strong growth is partly due to its low base a year ago, when geopolitical tensions disrupted traffic.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.