Dhaka: Global air passenger demand grew in September 2025, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said, highlighting steady momentum in the aviation sector despite economic and operational pressures in some markets.

According to IATA, total passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), increased by 3.6pc compared to September 2024.

Overall capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), rose by a nearly identical 3.7pc year-on-year.

The global load factor — a measure of how efficiently airlines fill available seats — stood at 83.4pc, a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the previous year.

International passenger demand showed stronger gains than the domestic segment, rising 5.1pc compared to September 2024.

Airlines expanded capacity by 5.2pc, keeping pace with demand growth.

The international load factor held steady at 83.6pc, down just 0.1 percentage points from a year earlier, suggesting that airlines are maintaining efficient use of their fleets even as they add more capacity.

Domestic air travel also expanded, albeit at a slower rate. Demand within domestic markets grew by 0.9pc year-on-year, while capacity rose by 1.1pc.

The domestic load factor was 83.0%, a marginal dip of 0.1 percentage points compared to September 2024.

North American carriers, for one, saw a 2.5 per cent year-on-year increase in demand.

Capacity increased 4.3pc year-on-year, and the load factor was 82.9pc.

The North America-Asia corridor showed weak growth of just 0.9pc. By contrast, North America-South America traffic bounced back from its August decline, with growth of 1.1pc.

“Solid international demand drove 90 per cent of September’s 3.6 per cent overall growth. Importantly, the capacity expansion slightly nudged ahead of demand growth at 3.7 per cent,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, in a press release.

Load factors, nonetheless, remained very strong at 83.4 per cent.

“With November flight schedules indicating a three per cent expansion on the previous year, airlines are gearing up for continued growth into the year-end holiday season. This is despite the severe constraints of unresolved supply chain issues,” Walsh said.

-B