Middle East airlines post 6.2% rise in demand for May

Airlines in the Middle East saw a 6.2% increase in passenger demand in May 2025 compared to the previous year, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

 

Capacity also increased 6.3% year on year but load factor dipped fractionally to 80.9%.

 

This gain follows IATA’s prediction in early June that airlines in the Middle East would generate the highest net profit per passenger of all regions in 2025, with US$27.20, more than three times the global average.

 

This was prior to flight disruptions in late June caused by the Israel-Iran conflict.

 

Globally, passenger traffic increased 5% YoY in May, lower than the record 8.1% growth from April 2025. That month, Middle East airlines posted 11.3% gains in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) and load factor was 83.1%.

 

Asia Pacific was the best performing region in May 2025, with growth in RPK of 9.4%, and North America was the only region reporting a decline, down 0.5% in total and a worrying 1.7% for domestic flights.

 

To put the Middle Eastern increase of 6.2% in context for May 2025, African airlines saw a 7.5% increase in demand, Latin American 8.5% and European 3.4%.

 

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Commenting on the data, Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, said the "severe disruptions" in the Middle East in late June "remind us that geopolitical instability remains a challenge in some regions as airlines maintain safe operations with minimal passenger inconvenience".

 

“The impact of such instability on oil prices – which remained low throughout May – is also a critical factor to monitor. Importantly, consumer confidence appears to be strong with forward bookings for the peak Northern summer travel season, giving good reason for optimism.”

 

It will be interesting to hear Walsh’s analysis for June 2025 when those figures are released and those severe regional disruptions are taken into account due to the Israel-Iran war, plus the impact of the Air India crash and rising oil prices.

 

More than 700 flights were cancelled across the region, with UAE-based airlines Emirates, Etihad, Flydubai, Wizz Air and Air Arabia halting flights to Israel, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan with some of those suspensions lasting two weeks.

 

On a positive note, the number of passenger flights scheduled worldwide is expected to expand 2.6% YoY in June and 2.5% YoY in July.

In 2024, Middle Eastern airlines saw a record 9.4% traffic rise compared to 2023, with capacity increasing 8.4% and load factor rising 0.7% to 80.8%.

 

For more information, visit www.iata.org

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