Air passenger demand was up in March 2025, according to the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) report on April 30, 2025.
The growth in demand comes despite growing economic uncertainties and with US airlines pulling full year guidance amid softening demand.
“There remains a lot of speculation around the potential impacts of tariffs and other economic headwinds on travel,” said IATA director general Willie Walsh. “While the small decline in demand in North America needs to be watched carefully, March numbers continued to show a global pattern of growth for air travel. That means the challenges associated with accommodating more people who need to travel—specifically alleviating supply chain problems and ensuring sufficient airport and air traffic management capacity—remain urgent."
Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), was up 3.3% compared to March 2024. Total capacity was up 5.3%. The load factor for the month averaged at 80.7% — down 1.6 percentage points compared to last year.
International demand was up 4.9% in the month, while capacity was up 7%. International load factor averaged at 79.9%, down 1.7 percentage points compared to March 2024.
Domestic demand increased 0.9% and capacity was up 2.5%. Load factor was higher than international at 82%, though still down 1.3 percentage points compared to last year.