Passenger traffic at Middle East airlines fell by 10% in July 2026 compared with the same month in 2025, while capacity fell by 6.2% and the passenger load factor dropped 3.4 points to 80.7%, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
IATA's report showed that the pace of decline in the region improved compared with June 2026, when Middle East airlines' passenger traffic fell by 13.8%, as the impact of geopolitical disruptions partially eased, according to a post on the IATA website.
For international flights only, demand at Middle East airlines fell by 9.5% year on year in July, against a 5.8% drop in capacity, while the load factor stood at 80.9%, down 3.3 points from July 2025.
Traffic on the Middle East–Asia route fell by 8.5% in July, better than the double-digit declines recorded in the previous four months, while capacity on the route fell by 7.7% and the load factor stood at 75.9%.
Traffic on the Middle East–North America route also fell by 3.4%, while capacity was stable and the load factor dropped 3.1 points to 85.1%.
By contrast, global air travel demand rose by 0.2% in July 2026 after 3 consecutive months of decline, while global capacity increased by 0.3% and the load factor stood at 85.2%. Excluding Middle East airlines, global demand grew by 1.2%.
Globally, international demand fell by 0.1%, while domestic demand rose by 0.6%, driven mainly by the recovery of China's domestic market.
IATA expects seat capacity in the Middle East to continue improving in August and September, with its annual decline expected to slow to 5.4% in August and 3.8% in September, after falling 6.5% in July. Globally, IATA expects scheduled seat capacity to grow by 1.9% in August and 2.9% in September 2026.
IATA noted that its regional data classify traffic by the airline's region of registration, and therefore reflect the performance of airlines registered in the Middle East rather than total travel within the region geographically.
To view the post on the IATA website, click here.
