Saudi Arabia: Middle Eastern airlines recorded the second-highest passenger traffic growth globally in August, rising 8.4 percent year on year, underscoring the sector’s resilience despite geopolitical tensions, the International Air Transport Association said. 

According to IATA’s latest Air Passenger Monthly Analysis, global traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPK, rose 4.6 percent year on year in August, slightly above July’s 4.1 percent, bringing total RPK to 896 billion. 

The growth in Middle Eastern airlines reflects broader regional efforts to bolster aviation as a key pillar of economic diversification, particularly in countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE. 

IATA noted that the August performance closely matched its forecast of 8.7 percent growth presented at the association’s 81st Annual General Meeting in New Delhi, where airlines in the Middle East were also projected to generate a net profit of $6.2 billion in 2025, slightly up from $6.1 billion in 2024. Revenue per passenger was expected at $27.20. 

“Middle Eastern airlines saw international traffic rise by 8.2 percent YoY in August. Capacity grew 6.9 percent YoY and PLF edged up one percentage point to 83.9 percent,” the IATA report said. 

It added: “African airlines recorded the highest YoY growth in passenger traffic among all regions, rising 8.9 percent in August.” 

IATA added that industry-wide international traffic for August remained strong and rose by 6.6 percent year on year, with international capacity increasing by 6.5 percent. 

“This slightly slower growth in capacity meant that PLF in the international sector inched up 0.1 percentage points YoY to 85.8 percent, the highest international PLF recorded for the month of August,” IATA report noted. 

It highlighted that domestic passenger traffic, on the other hand, grew only 1.5 percent year on year in August, matching the pace of the previous month. 

“This marked the third consecutive month with YoY gains below 2 percent. Capacity rose by 1.3 percent YoY, pushing the domestic PLF up 0.1 percentage points to 86.3 percent — the highest domestic PLF ever recorded for any month,” the report added. 

Overall, international traffic accounted for 87 percent of the net growth in global RPK, underscoring its dominant role, while domestic traffic contributed only 13 percent, down from 25 percent a year earlier.