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The Traffic Forecast: Middle East War Leads to 3.4% Fall in Air Passenger Demand in April

Negar Rezvany, Economist Industry Analysis Specialist, IATA, explains new data for April 2026 global air passenger markets.

The new data reveals that in April 2026, a 46.6% fall in passenger demand for carriers in the Middle East due to war in the region was so acute that it dragged overall demand down -3.4%.

Excluding the Middle East, demand increased by 1.2%. 

Total capacity decreased -2.9% YoY and the load factor was 83.1% (-0.4 ppt compared to April 2025).

Read the full release and access more in-depth analysis: https://www.iata.org/en/pressroom/2026-releases/05-28-middle-east-war-fall-air-passenger-demand-april/