IATA’s July 2026 passenger data show global demand rising just 0.2% year on year, with capacity up 0.3% and the load factor edging down to 85.2%. International traffic slipped 0.1% while domestic demand increased 0.6%, leaving the market broadly stable but showing only minimal growth during the peak summer travel season.
The figures point to a mixed pattern across regions, with weakness in international flying partly offset by firmer domestic performance. Excluding the Middle East, international demand would have grown by about 1.5%, underlining the extent to which disruption in that region weighed on the wider market. Even so, the overall picture remains one of stagnation rather than contraction, with airlines still filling a high share of seats despite the soft revenue passenger kilometre growth.
The July result follows a period in which airlines had been expecting stronger seasonal momentum, yet the data indicate that capacity growth is keeping pace with demand rather than driving a sharper recovery. Domestic resilience is helping support the market, but it is not enough to lift global passenger traffic far above flat levels.