African airways recorded the best progress in worldwide air journey demand in January 2026, with income passenger kilometers (RPK) rising 11.7% year-on-year.
This information comes from the Worldwide Air Transport Affiliation (IATA) international passenger demand report launched on Monday, March 2, 2026.
The expansion reveals that African carriers led international worldwide demand enlargement, surpassing all different areas and reflecting sturdy momentum in cross-border journey.
African airways noticed an 11.7% enhance in worldwide RPK in January 2026, with capability, measured as out there seat kilometers (ASK), rising 10.1% year-on-year. The load issue, which measures the share of seats crammed by paying passengers, reached 77.4%, up 1.1 proportion factors from January 2025, exhibiting extra effectively crammed flights.
Globally, worldwide demand rose 5.9% year-on-year, with an general load issue of 82.5%, a file excessive for the month.
Whereas Africa led worldwide air journey progress, different areas additionally posted notable will increase, although none matched the continent’s tempo. Latin American airways noticed demand rise 11.4% year-on-year, with capability up 8.9% and a load issue of 86.5%, marking a 2.0 proportion level enhance.
IATA Director Basic Willie Walsh famous that international seat capability is projected to extend 5.2% by March 2026, the quickest enlargement since April 2024, however geopolitical tensions might introduce uncertainties for visitors and gas prices.
African airways have maintained sturdy progress momentum, with passenger visitors rising 10.3% in December 2025, one of many area’s greatest month-to-month performances in current historical past.
European carriers recorded 6.0% full-year progress, Center Jap airways 6.7%, North American 2.1%, and Latin American 8.6%.
The sturdy begin to 2026 for African airways displays continued restoration from the pandemic, sturdy demand for worldwide journey, and environment friendly capability administration throughout the area.
