New Delhi, Sept. 30 -- India's domestic air passenger volume dropped 7.5 per cent in August on an annual basis, recording the largest traffic decline among the major domestic markets, according to global airlines' grouping IATA.

In its air passenger market analysis report for August, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Wednesday said industry-wide RPK slipped back into contraction, falling 0.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) after registering a marginal growth of 0.3 per cent in July.

Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) is an indicator of passenger volumes.

"Higher demand in China, Brazil and Australia contrasted with declines in Japan, the US and India. Despite growth across several major markets, overall domestic traffic remained slightly below its level a year earlier," IATA said.

IATA's Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist Marie Owens Thomsen said the coming months will reveal whether travellers, whose purchasing power has been reduced by higher energy prices, are adjusting their travel budgets, and might be discouraged from travelling due to the prevailing geopolitical instability.

"India recorded the largest traffic decline among the major domestic markets. Domestic RPK fell by 7.5 per cent YoY, following a 5.2 per cent decrease in July. Capacity contracted by 1.2 per cent, substantially less than the fall in demand, resulting in a 5.4 percentage point reduction in the PLF to 78.7 per cent," IATA said.

The grouping, which represents over 370 airlines globally including Indian carriers, said India's was the lowest PLF and the largest drop in the load factor among the six markets.

PLF refers to the Passenger Load Factor. Asia Pacific airlines recorded a 0.1 per cent year-on-year decrease in demand in August.

"Capacity decreased 0.9 per cent year-on-year and the load factor was 85.6 per cent (+0.7 ppt compared to August 2025). Traffic on routes within Asia fell 2.0 per cent and capacity declined for the fourth month in a row. By contrast, traffic on the Asia-North America corridor grew by 2.5 per cent," IATA said.

Thomsen said the recovery trajectory for carriers in the Middle East was interrupted and the region's carriers reported that in August demand was 14.6 per cent lower year-on-year, reversing an improving trend.

"Excluding the Middle East carriers, demand for air travel grew by 0.6 per cent year-on-year in August, half the pace seen in July. With some important exceptions such as domestic China, global connectivity was generally weaker in August," she said.

She also noted that forward schedules for October are showing cautious optimism with 2 per cent growth in available seats.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.