The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that global passenger traffic growth in October (measured in revenue passenger kilometers, or RPKs) reached 7.2%, compared to the same month last year. Capacity grew 6.2% and load factor climbed 0.8 percentage points, to 80.8%, which was a record for the month.

October's performance represented an uptick from the hurricane-related disruptions in September, which showed year-on-year growth of 5.7%, though North American carriers — which should have benefitted most from this effect — saw only a modest increase, from 3% to 3.7%.

October international passenger demand rose 7.3% compared to October 2016, which was an improvement compared to the 6.6% demand increase for September. Airlines in all regions recorded growth. Total capacity climbed 6.0%, and load factor increased 1.0 percentage point to 79.4%.

Asia-Pacific airlines led the way, with traffic growth of 10.3% compared to the year-ago period, which was up from an 8.7% rise in September. Capacity climbed 8.4% and load factor rose 1.3 percentage points to 78.0%.

Middle East carriers experienced a 6.9% rise in demand in October, improved from 3.9% in September. Capacity increased 5.3%, and load factor climbed 1.0 percentage point to 69.6%.

European carriers' October demand climbed 6.2% over October 2016, which was a slowdown compared to the 7.2% year-over-year growth recorded for September. Capacity increased 4.5% and load factor rose 1.3 percentage points to 84.9%, highest among regions.