- African Airlines record a 1.1% Increase in July 2026 Air Cargo Demand
The International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s global passenger demand for July 2026 shows that “African airlines saw a 6.4% y-o-y rise in demand, a 9.0% y-o-y expansion in capacity, and a 74.1% passenger load-factor (the percentage of capacity taken up by the market), which was slightly lower (-0.3 percentage points y-o-y) on July 2025. Also, Africa accounted for 2.2% of the total global market for passenger air travel in June 2026.”
The global passenger demand data revealed that “Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 0.2% compared to July 2025. Excluding the Middle East, demand grew by 1.2%. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), increased 0.3% year-on-year. The load factor was 85.2% (-0.1 ppt compared to July 2025). International demand fell 0.1% compared to July 2025. Excluding the Middle East, demand grew by 1.5%. Capacity was up 0.3% year-on-year, and the load factor was 85.2% (-0.3 ppt compared to July 2025). Domestic demand grew 0.6% compared to July 2025. Capacity increased 0.2% year-on-year. The load factor was 85.3% (+0.3 ppt during the same reference period).”
The global air cargo markets data for July shows that “African airlines saw a 1.1% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo, the weakest of all regions worldwide, a 4.1% year-on-year expansion of cargo capacity and a 45.8% cargo load factor (the percentage of capacity taken up by the market).”
The global cargo data also revealed that total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), increased by 3.9% compared to July 2025 (4.7% for international operations). Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTK), increased by 1.7% compared to July 2025 (1.8% for international operations).
IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, Marie Owens Thomsen said: “The peak Northern summer travel season is a mostly positive story for air travel. Overall growth of 0.2% in July was achieved despite year-on-year collective declines by carriers in North America and the Middle East. Notably, traffic through the Gulf hubs continues its recovery trajectory. Although high fuel costs, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions continue, carriers are expressing confidence in demand for the last part of the year with an almost 3% expansion of seat capacity in September.”
Ms. Owens added: “Air cargo demand grew 3.9% year-on-year in July. While all regions recorded growth, airlines in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America accounted for more than 90% of the overall increase. Dedicated freighters gained market share as belly-hold traffic declined, possibly reflecting demand for larger or specialist shipments and the operational flexibility that freighters can provide. Looking ahead, the outlook remains broadly positive, supported by manufacturing activity, export orders and global trade. However, higher fuel prices, geopolitical tensions and tariff uncertainty will need to be watched carefully.”
According to IATA, several factors in the cargo operating environment should be noted:
- Global trade increased by 7.5% year-on-year.
- Jet fuel prices rose by 12.2% month-on-month in July and were 56.9% higher than a year earlier.
IATA stated that “global manufacturing activity eased slightly in June but remained supportive, while export orders reached their highest level in three months. The Global Manufacturing Output Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell 0.3 points to 52.7, while the New Export Orders Index rose to 50.0. Together, these indicators remained broadly supportive of air cargo demand.”
Air Passenger Market in Detail
| JULY 2026 (% year-on-year) | World Share1 | RPK | ASK | PLF(%-PT)2 | PLF(Level)3 |
| Total Market | 100% | 0.2% | 0.3% | -0.1 | 85.2% |
| Africa | 2.2% | 5.2% | 7.3% | -1.5 | 75.1% |
| Asia-Pacific | 34.4% | 1.0% | 0.3% | 0.6 | 83.7% |
| Europe | 26.7% | 2.1% | 2.3% | -0.1 | 87.7% |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 5.4% | 6.1% | 6.6% | -0.4 | 85.3% |
| Middle East | 9.5% | -10.0% | -6.2% | -3.4 | 80.7% |
| North America | 21.8% | -1.2% | -1.8% | 0.6 | 87.3% |
- % of industry RPK in 2025 2) Year-on-year change in load factor 3) Load Factor Level Source: IATA
Air Cargo Market in Detail – July 2026
| JULY 2026 (%year-on-year) | World Share *1 | CTK | ACTK | CLF (%-pt) *2 | CLF (level) *3 |
| Total Market | 100% | 3.9% | 1.7% | 1.0 | 46.0% |
| Africa | 2.1% | 1.1% | 4.1% | -1.4 | 45.8% |
| Asia-Pacific | 35.8% | 4.1% | 3.0% | 0.5 | 49.5% |
| Europe | 21.4% | 4.4% | 1.3% | 1.5 | 51.1% |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 2.9% | 4.1% | 7.0% | -0.9 | 32.3% |
| Middle East | 13.2% | 1.7% | 4.0% | -1.0 | 44.1% |
| North America | 24.6% | 4.8% | -1.5% | 2.5 | 41.2% |
(*1) % of industry CTK in 2025 (*2) Year-on-year change in load factor (*3) Load factor level Source: IATA