Resilience in air travel demand into 2026 has been projected after North American carriers saw a rebound international travel in October.
Key transatlantic routes saw a 3.8% year on year rise year, a “modest improvement” over September’s 3.3% increase.
The disclosure came as Iata reported a 6.6% year on year improvement in total passenger demand during the month.
Demand for international flights rose by 8.5% as the level of capacity deployed grew by 7.1%
Domestic demand was up by 3.4% as capacity few by 3.6%.
International traffic within Asia had a “stellar performance”, with traffic to and from China, Japan, and Vietnam seeing “particularly robust” expansion, with each exceeding 10% growth year on year.
Airlines in the Middle East saw demand rise by 10.7%, partly due to a low base a year ago when geopolitical tensions disrupted traffic.
Iata director general Willie Walsh said: “October was a strong month for air travel with demand up 6.6% on the previous year.
“Of particular note is the 4.5% international traffic growth for carriers based in North America which comes after several months of basically flat performance.
“The trends for the rest of the year look encouraging: scheduled seat capacity in November is set to expand 3.6% and in December by 4.7%.
“This points to strong demand for holiday travel and businesses looking to complete deals by the end of the year.”
He added: “Considering the uncertainty in the economic outlook for 2026, the resilience of demand for air travel, with the jobs and growth it brings, is a bright spot that governments should nurture with care.”
