by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 8:45 AM ET, Thu April 30, 2026
New international air passenger data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows in numbers how sharply the U.S.-Israel war on Iran has impacted travel globally, showing that while global demand was up 2.1% from March, 2025, demand in the Middle East dropped 58.6%.
“Everybody’s watching what’s happening with jet fuel—both supply and pricing. On the supply side, over the next months we could see shortages in parts of the world with high dependence on supplies from the Gulf, especially Asia and Europe,” said IATA’s Director General, Willie Walsh. “And the extraordinarily high cost of jet fuel is increasingly being reflected in ticket prices.
“While this has not impacted March traffic or forward bookings to date, it remains to be seen at what point high prices could start to shift passenger behavior,” Walsh continued. “So far, the summer is shaping up to be a normally busy time for travel. That’s positive news, but airline resilience is being tested and stabilizing the supply and price of fuel is crucial. In the meantime, it’s important for regulators to be prepared to grant airlines some flexibility on slots considering the extraordinary circumstances of airspace capacity restrictions and potential fuel rationing.”
Global Metrics Show Uneven Growth
While revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), which measures total air travel demand, was up 2.1%, total capacity decreased 1.7% due to the war. International travel demand fell 0.6%, with capacity down 6.2% from last March.
Airlines in the Middle East experienced a 60.8% drop in international air travel in March.
Global domestic demand fared well in March, increasing 6.5% year-over-year, with capacity up 5.6%.
Regional Stats
Regionally, growth is uneven. While passenger demand plummeted in the Middle East by nearly 60% due to the war, airlines in Africa saw a 20.6% increase in demand.
The Asia Pacific region saw an 11.5% growth; Europe saw a 7.5% growth; Latin America and the Caribbean experienced an 8.4% growth; and North America experienced a moderate 2.3% growth.
While global international travel demand fell for the first time since March 2021, regionally most parts of the globe saw international travel demand rise.
Asia-Pacific airlines saw an 11.5% increase in demand from March, 2025; European airlines celebrated a 7.7% increase; North American airlines saw a 3.7% increase; airlines in Latin America welcomed a 12.1% increase; and African airlines celebrated a 19.2% increase in demand.
Domestic Travel Grows as War Creates Global Instability
In March, domestic travel demand finally outpaced international demand globally, increasing 6.5% year-over-year.
Domestic travel in Australia increased 8.8%; demand in China grew 13.7%; demand in Brazil increased 10.8%; and in the United States, it increased a moderate 1.4%.
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