Africa led global air travel growth in November 2025, recording an 11.2% year-on-year increase in international passenger demand, the strongest performance of any region, according to new data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The surge underscores the continent’s accelerating aviation recovery and expanding connectivity, as African airlines also grew capacity by 8.5% and improved load factors to 74.3%, up 1.8 percentage points compared to the same period in 2024.
Globally, total passenger demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), rose by 5.7% compared to November last year, while overall capacity increased by 5.4%. Airlines achieved a record November load factor of 83.7%, reflecting continued strong appetite for air travel despite persistent aircraft delivery delays and supply chain constraints.
International travel remained the primary driver of growth, with global international demand increasing by 7.7% year-on-year. Capacity expanded by 7.1%, pushing the international load factor to a record 84.0% for the month. Compared to October, growth eased slightly across most regions, with Africa standing out as the sole market to record stronger momentum month-on-month.
Asia-Pacific airlines posted a 9.3% increase in international demand, supported by an 8.7% rise in capacity, with load factors reaching 85.8%. However, geopolitical tensions contributed to a slowdown in traffic growth between China and Japan. Middle Eastern carriers also delivered robust results, with demand rising by 9.6% and capacity by 9.2%, while European airlines recorded a 6.8% increase in demand alongside a 6.1% capacity expansion.
North American carriers saw international demand grow by 4.0%, broadly in line with a 4.2% increase in capacity, though load factors slipped slightly to 81.0%, marking the tenth consecutive month of year-on-year decline in the region’s overall load factor. Latin American airlines reported a 4.4% rise in demand, with capacity increasing by 4.7%, resulting in a modest dip in load factors to 83.9%.
Domestic passenger markets grew at a slower pace, with global domestic demand rising by 2.7% year-on-year, matching the rate of capacity expansion and keeping load factors steady at 83.2%. Brazil and India were the fastest-growing domestic markets, while the United States was the only major domestic market to record a decline in demand, potentially linked to the impact of a government shutdown.
Commenting on the results, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said the strong November performance highlights airlines’ ability to meet rising passenger demand, even as capacity remains constrained by challenges in the aerospace manufacturing supply chain. He noted that load factors reached a new record for the month and stressed the need for aircraft manufacturers to ramp up production in 2026 to reduce an order backlog that exceeded 17,000 aircraft in 2025.
