News & Press

 Summary of indicators:

• Capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASKs), increased 3.1% year on year.
• Demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs), grew 3.2%.
• The average load factor reached 85.9%, 0.1 percentage points above July 2025.

Air passenger traffic in July 2026: Key results

• Regional passenger traffic returned to growth in July.
  • The region handled 43.1 million passengers, 0.7% more than in July 2025, equivalent to 310,000 additional passengers. This was an improvement from June, when traffic fell 2.3%, although growth remained below the rates recorded during the first quarter.

• Growth was concentrated within Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Domestic traffic increased 1.3% and intra-LAC international traffic grew 2.6%. Extra-LAC international traffic declined 1.0%. Domestic flights accounted for 54.4% of regional traffic.

• Brazil, Panama, and Colombia recorded the largest passenger increases.
  • Brazil added 278,000 passengers (+2.4%), Panama 270,000 (+14.5%), and Colombia 144,000 (+2.8%). Together, the three markets added 692,000 passengers and offset declines in other countries. Panama completed seven consecutive months of double-digit growth, while Brazil and Colombia returned to growth after declining in June.

• Mexico returned to growth after four consecutive months of decline.
  • The country handled 11.07 million passengers (+0.7%). Domestic traffic grew 5.0% and added 289,000 passengers, offsetting a 4.0% decline in international traffic. Mexico–United States traffic fell 5.4%, equivalent to 207,000 fewer passengers.

• Extra-LAC traffic continued to post weaker results.
  • Eight of the ten largest extra-LAC markets declined in July. Mexico–United States, the largest corridor by passenger volume, fell 5.4%. Dominican Republic–United States declined 2.0%, while Brazil–Portugal fell 1.0%. Panama–United States (+10.4%) and Bahamas–United States (+6.6%) were among the few major corridors to grow.

• Passenger traffic remained positive during the first seven months of the year.
  • Between January and July, the region handled 283.1 million passengers, 2.0% more than in the same period of 2025, equivalent to 5.5 million additional passengers. Intra-LAC traffic recorded the highest growth (+4.9%), followed by domestic traffic (+2.6%), while extra-LAC traffic remained virtually unchanged (-0.1%).

• New routes were added to, from, and within the region in July.
  • Six routes began operating that had not recorded scheduled service since January 2025. Three were in Brazil: Brasília–Uberlândia, Foz do Iguaçu–Porto Alegre

“Air passenger traffic in Latin America and the Caribbean continued to grow in July, although at a slower pace than at the beginning of the year. It is encouraging to see key markets such as Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia growing again, while intra-LAC traffic continues to strengthen. However, major challenges remain. Jet fuel prices, for example, are around 90% above the 2025 average, putting significant pressure on airline costs. Against this backdrop, regulatory decisions, including Brazil’s tax reform, must preserve the competitiveness of air transport and support connectivity. Aviation drives economic and social development across the region, and avoiding additional burdens will be critical to supporting further growth, tourism, trade, and job creation,” said Peter Cerdá, CEO of ALTA.

The full analysis, including country-level results, international markets, new routes, air traffic indicators, and the jet fuel cost environment, is available in the ALTA Passenger Traffic Report – July 2026.

Glossary: RPK (Revenue Passenger Kilometers): number of revenue passengers carried multiplied by the distance traveled | ASK (Available Seat Kilometers): number of seats available for sale multiplied by the distance flown | Load factor: calculated by dividing RPKs by ASKs.

Methodological Note: In this report, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is defined as the combined total of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico. This definition is applied consistently to all regional and international traffic analyses. Domestic flights are flights operated within a single country. International traffic is divided into two main segments:

• Intra-LAC international traffic: flights between countries within LAC, such as Argentina–Brazil or Mexico–Colombia.
• Extra-LAC international traffic: flights between LAC and other regions, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

Note on the figures: The information presented reflects the data available when this report was prepared and is preliminary. The figures may be revised following subsequent updates, corrections, or adjustments by the original sources or during ALTA’s data consolidation process. As a result, passenger totals, operating indicators, and growth rates may differ from those published in later editions.