African carriers recorded the strongest growth in international passenger demand in November 2025, with volumes rising 11.2% year-on-year.
The figures come from data recently released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on global passenger markets.
The performance highlights Africa’s growing role in international air travel and the continent’s ability to capture rising cross-border passenger traffic despite ongoing industry constraints.
What the IATA report is saying
The IATA report showed that African airlines not only led the world in international passenger demand growth but also expanded capacity to meet the increasing travel needs.
Available seat kilometers (ASK) for African carriers rose 8.5% year-on-year, while the load factor — the proportion of seats actually filled — increased to 74.3%, up 1.8 percentage points compared to November 2024. Although the absolute load factor remained below that of other regions, Africa’s growth in demand was the strongest globally.
“African airlines were the stand-out performer, with an 11.2% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 8.5% year-on-year. The load factor was 74.3% (+1.8 ppt compared to November 2024),” the report read in part.
Overall, total passenger demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), grew 5.7% year-on-year in November 2025, with total capacity increasing 5.4%.
International traffic saw stronger growth, rising 7.7%, while domestic travel increased 2.7%. The global load factor reached a record 83.7% for November, reflecting robust demand amid ongoing capacity constraints caused by challenges in the aerospace supply chain.
International passenger growth across other regions
While Africa led the growth charts, other regions posted mixed results in November 2025. Airlines in the Asia-Pacific achieved a 9.3% year-on-year increase in demand, with capacity up 8.7%, and a load factor of 85.8%, a 0.5 percentage point improvement over November 2024.
European carriers saw demand rise 6.8%, with capacity increasing 6.1%, and a load factor of 85.6%, also up 0.5 points. Middle Eastern airlines recorded a 9.6% increase in demand, with capacity up 9.2% and load factor at 81.4%.
North American carriers grew more modestly, with demand up 4.0% and capacity increasing 4.2%, while load factor declined slightly to 81.0%, marking the tenth consecutive month of year-on-year load factor decline.
Latin American airlines saw a 4.4% increase in demand, capacity up 4.7%, and load factor of 83.9%, slightly down by 0.2 percentage points compared to November 2024.
IATA DG highlights strong demand and capacity challenges
Commenting on the performance, Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, said that air travel demand continued to expand strongly in November 2025, with load factors hitting a new record of 83.7% for the month.
“November 2025 saw continued strong demand for air travel with year-on-year growth of 5.7%. Load factors reached a new record of 83.7% for the month as airlines continued to satisfy growing passenger demand amid continuing capacity constraints stemming from challenges in the aerospace supply chain,” Walsh stated.
He highlighted that airlines were operating amid ongoing capacity constraints due to limited aircraft production and stressed the need for the aerospace manufacturing sector to increase output to meet airline demand.
Walsh also pointed to the global backlog of over 17,000 aircraft orders as a key challenge that must be addressed in 2026 to sustain growth in the sector.
