African airlines recorded a 9.5% year-on-year increase in international air travel demand in May 2025, marking one of the strongest performances globally, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
While the Asia-Pacific region led in overall demand growth, African carriers posted the highest improvement in load factor, rising by 2.2 percentage points to 74.9%, the most significant seat occupancy gain among all regions.
A key driver of this growth was the sharp increase in traffic on the Africa–Asia corridor, where demand surged 15.9% year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing international route worldwide for the month.
To support this rising demand, African carriers expanded their capacity by 6.2%, effectively aligning seat supply with passenger growth and avoiding oversupply challenges.
“African airlines saw a 9.5% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 6.2% year-on-year. The load factor was 74.9% (+2.2 ppt compared to May 2024). Africa-Asia is the fastest-growing international corridor, with an expansion of 15.9%,” the IATA report read in part.
Globally, international passenger demand grew by 6.7% in May 2025, with capacity rising 6.4%, bringing the overall international load factor to 83.2%, a new record for the month of May. Across international and domestic markets, global air travel demand and capacity each rose by 5.0% in May, while the average load factor edged down slightly to 83.4%.
IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh, observed that air travel growth in May was uneven across regions, with Asia-Pacific leading overall and Africa demonstrating notable strength in international markets. He cautioned that geopolitical instability, particularly in the Middle East, remains a key risk, although oil prices remained low throughout the month.
Nevertheless, strong forward bookings for the Northern Hemisphere summer signal continued recovery, with Africa’s performance reflecting a broader upward trend supported by rising demand, stronger intercontinental connectivity, and more efficient airline operations.
Beyond African airlines, other regions also recorded varying degrees of growth in international air travel during May 2025. Asia-Pacific led globally, with a 13.3% increase in demand and a 10.6% rise in capacity, resulting in a load factor of 84.0%, up 2.0 percentage points compared to May 2024.
European airlines experienced a 4.1% growth in demand and a 4.8% rise in capacity, which resulted in a load factor of 84.0%, a slight decline of 0.6 percentage point year-on-year.
Meanwhile, North America posted the weakest performance among all regions. International demand rose by just 1.4%, while capacity increased 1.7%, causing the load factor to fall to 83.8%, a 0.3 percentage point drop from May 2024.