SINGAPORE, 2 April 2025: Passenger demand growth slowed slightly during February, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports in its latest data on Monday.
Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), was up 2.6% compared to February 2024. Total capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASK), was up 2% year-on-year.
The February load factor was 81.1% (+0.4 ppt compared to February 2024).
International demand rose 5.6% compared to February 2024. Capacity was up 4.5% year-on-year, and the load factor was 80.2% (+0.9 ppt compared to February 2024).
Domestic demand fell 1.9% compared to February 2024. Capacity was down 1.7% year-on-year. The load factor was 82.6% (-0.2 ppt compared to February 2024).
“While traffic growth slowed in February, much of this can be explained by factors including the leap year and Lunar New Year falling in January compared to February last year. February traffic hit an all-time high, and the number of scheduled flights is set to continue increasing in March and April. But we need to keep a close eye on developments in North America, which saw falls in both domestic and international traffic,” said IATA’s Director General Willie Walsh.
“The recent shutdown of Heathrow reminded us once again that the current passenger rights regime in Europe and the UK is unfit for purpose. The annual costs of compensation, care and assistance run into the billions. Thankfully, the Polish Presidency of the EU has recognised that this is a drag on European competitiveness and is progressing with much-needed and long-anticipated reforms to EU261.
“While many of the proposed reforms are sensible, the package stops short of a real solution. Even with the reforms, EU261 will still target the airlines with penalties even if the root cause of delays is an infrastructure incident out of their control—like we saw at Heathrow. Over two decades of EU261 have not seen a reduction in delays because infrastructure providers have no incentive to improve their game. Sadly for European travellers, we will likely see this play out again in this summer’s peak travel season. Genuine reform of EU261 must ensure that all parties responsible for delays have a stake in the consequences,” said Walsh.
Regional Breakdown – International Passenger Markets
International RPK growth moderated to 5.6% in February year-on-year, down from 12.3% growth in January. However, this growth meant that all regions except North America established record February demand levels.
Asia-Pacific airlines achieved a 9.5% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 8.3% year-on-year, and the load factor was 85.7% (+0.9 ppt compared to February 2024).
European carriers had a 5.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 4.9% year-on-year, and the load factor was 75.5% (+0.5 ppt compared to February 2024).
Middle Eastern carriers saw a 3.1% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 1.3% year-on-year, and the load factor was 81.9% (+1.4 ppt compared to February 2024).
North American carriers saw a -1.5% year-on-year fall in demand. Capacity decreased -3.2% year-on-year, and the load factor was 78.9% (+1.3 ppt compared to February 2024).
Latin American airlines saw a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity climbed 9.9% year-on-year. The load factor was 81.7% (-2.5 ppt compared to February 2024).
African airlines saw a 6.7% year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity was up 4.0% year-on-year. The load factor rose to 75.3% (+2.0 ppt compared to February 2024).
