Middle East air cargo demand grows 3.8% in September

Middle Eastern airlines recorded a 3.8% year-on-year increase in air cargo demand in September 2026, the weakest growth among all global regions, according to the latest data released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Capacity in the region expanded by 7.0% during the month, outpacing demand growth.

The performance comes amid a 7.7% increase in global air cargo demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTK), compared with September 2025. International demand grew by 8.6%, while global capacity increased by 2.7%.

Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s Senior Vice President Sustainability and Chief Economist, said, “Air cargo demand rose 7.7% year-on-year in September, with growth across all regions. Stronger global trade and manufacturing provided a supportive backdrop, while AI-related shipments helped drive another month of double-digit growth across the Pacific.”

“The challenge is cost. Jet fuel prices have more than doubled compared with a year ago, and yields have not kept pace. There is no shortage of goods to ship, but doing that profitably in the face of persistently high fuel prices has become more challenging,” she added. Major Middle East-linked trade corridors continued to record declines, with traffic falling on both Europe–Middle East and Middle East–Asia routes, despite stronger performance across several other global trade lanes.