The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released its latest global air travel data, and the standout story is the impressive performance of carriers from Africa. In a month of strong worldwide demand, African airlines recorded a remarkable year-on-year passenger growth of 11.2% in November 2025, significantly outpacing the global average.
Africa Outperforms Global Aviation Trends
According to the monthly data published by IATA, the global demand for air travel, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK), saw a healthy increase of 5.7% in November 2025 compared to the same month in 2024. However, the African continent's aviation sector emerged as the clear leader, with its 11.2% growth rate more than doubling the worldwide figure.
The robust demand was matched by increased capacity, with African airlines boosting their Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) by 8.5% year-on-year. This strategic scaling resulted in a load factor—a key measure of how full planes are—of 74.3%. This represents a solid improvement of 1.8 percentage points over November 2024, indicating efficient operations and strong market appetite.
Global and Regional Breakdown
Globally, capacity rose by 5.4%, leading to a record-high November load factor of 83.7%. IATA's Director-General, Willie Walsh, highlighted the sector's strength but also pointed to a significant challenge. "November 2025 saw continued strong demand for air travel," Walsh stated, noting that record load factors are occurring amid "continuing capacity constraints stemming from challenges in the aerospace supply chain."
He issued a clear call to action for aircraft manufacturers, saying, "The new year’s resolution for the manufacturing sector must be to increase production to meet the needs of its airline customers. The backlog of more than 17,000 aircraft orders that we reached in 2025 must be reduced in 2026."
A regional analysis of the November data reveals:
- Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 9.3% demand increase with an 85.8% load factor.
- Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 9.6% rise in demand.
- European airlines posted a 6.8% growth in traffic.
- North American demand grew by 4.0%, but the region has seen ten consecutive months of declining load factor.
- Latin American airlines recorded a 4.4% increase in demand.
Notably, IATA's data indicated that geopolitical tensions contributed to a slowdown in traffic between China and Japan, which grew at a single-digit rate for the first time in 2025.
Implications for African Aviation
The exceptional performance of African airlines in November 2025 signals a robust recovery and growing confidence in air travel across the continent. The fact that Africa was the only region where growth accelerated compared to the previous month (October) underscores its dynamic market potential.
This sustained passenger growth presents both an opportunity and a challenge for the region's aviation infrastructure and airline fleets. To maintain this positive trajectory, stakeholders will need to address the ongoing global capacity constraints highlighted by Walsh, ensuring that African carriers can secure the aircraft and resources needed to meet the rising demand from a burgeoning traveling public.
