- African Airlines record 11.7% Increase in January 2026 Passenger Demand
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released data for January 2026 global air cargo market performance showing that “African airlines saw a 18.2% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo in January, the strongest growth of all regions. Capacity increased by 6.5% year-on-year.”
The air cargo data revealed that globally “total demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTK), rose by 5.6% compared to January 2025 levels (+7.2% for international operations). Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTK), increased by 3.6% compared to January 2025 (+5.7% for international operations).”
Also, according to IATA in its global passenger demand for January 2026 “African airlines saw an 11.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 10.1% year-on-year. The load factor was 77.4% (+1.1 ppt compared to January 2025).”
The global passenger data revealed that “Total demand measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was up 3.8% compared to January 2025. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), increased 3.5% year-on-year. The load factor was 82.0% (+0.2 ppt compared to January 2025), a record high for January. International demand rose 5.9% compared to January 2025. Capacity was up 5.8% year-on-year, and the load factor was 82.5% (+0.1 ppt compared to January 2025), and Domestic demand increased 0.1% compared to January 2025. Capacity was down -0.4% year-on-year. The load factor was 81.2% (+0.4 ppt compared to January 2025).”
On air cargo demand, IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh said: the segment “had a robust start to 2026, recording 5.6% year-on-year growth in January. At the regional level, the story is more polarized. Carriers in Africa, Middle East, Asia-Pacific, and Europe all reported faster growth than the global average. In contrast, carriers in the Americas reported aggregate contractions.”
For Global passenger demand, Willie Walsh said: “The timing of the Lunar New Year partly explains the slightly slower 3.8% expansion in January, but the fundamentals are in place for demand to continue strong growth in 2026. Schedule data, for example, indicate a 5.2% increase in global seat capacity by March, which would be the fastest expansion since April 2024. Events over the weekend have, however, introduced some uncertainty into the evolution of traffic and fuel costs. We all hope for an early peaceful resolution to the current hostilities. In the meantime, it is critical that states respect their obligation to keep civilians, and civil aviation free from harm.
Air Cargo Market in Detail – January 2026
| January 2026 (%year-on-year) | World Share *1 | CTK | ACTK | CLF (%-pt) *2 | CLF (level) *3 |
| Total Market | 100% | 5.6% | 3.6% | 0.9 | 45.1% |
| Africa | 2.1% | 18.2% | 6.5% | 4.3 | 43.5% |
| Asia Pacific | 35.9% | 7.8% | 3.3% | 1.9 | 45.3% |
| Europe | 21.4% | 6.9% | 4.9% | 1.0 | 54.1% |
| Latin America and Caribbean | 2.9% | -2.0% | 2.3% | -1.4 | 32.0% |
| Middle East | 13.2% | 9.3% | 9.9% | -0.2 | 40.6% |
| North America | 24.5% | -0.5% | -0.2% | -0.1 | 43.3% |
(1) % of industry CTK in 2025 (2) Year-on-year change in load factor (3) Load factor level Source:IATA
Air Passenger Market in Detail
| January 2026 (% year-on-year) | World Share1 | RPK | ASK | PLF(%-PT)2 | PLF(Level)3 |
| Total Market | 100% | 3.8% | 3.5% | 0.2 | 82.0% |
| Africa | 2.2% | 17.9% | 16.3% | 1.0 | 77.0% |
| Asia Pacific | 34.4% | 1.4% | 1.8% | -0.3 | 83.9% |
| Europe | 26.7% | 6.0% | 5.1% | 0.7 | 80.2% |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 5.4% | 8.3% | 6.0% | 1.8 | 85.3% |
| Middle East | 9.5% | 7.4% | 8.0% | -0.5 | 83.3% |
| North America | 21.8% | 0.8% | 0.1% | 0.5 | 80.2% |
1) % of industry RPK in 2025 2) Year-on-year change in load factor 3) Load Factor Level Source:IATA