Airline ImPax Report

Global Disruptions Overview

This month’s report analyses the disruption data of 243 airlines totalling 802,658 disrupted flights, across 2,988,248 planned flights, globally.

August saw global aviation contend with multiple sources of disruption as peak summer demand placed continued pressure on networks. Severe weather drove significant disruption across Asia-Pacific, while Europe faced a combination of storms, volcanic activity and persistent ATC capacity and staffing constraints. Middle East instability continued to affect capacity, routings and operating conditions, with regional capacity remaining below 2025 levels. Despite these pressures, global airline capacity increased 2.6% year-on-year, highlighting the challenge of maintaining operational resilience as traffic volumes remain high.

Asia Pacific

APAC experienced significant weather-driven disruption throughout August, with successive typhoons impacting major aviation markets across North Asia. Typhoon Dolphin caused widespread cancellations across Japan and Taiwan before hitting eastern China, where Shanghai's two airports cancelled around 1,300 flights in a single day, followed by more than 900 the next day. Later in the month, further severe weather disrupted Japan. Australia faced a different challenge, with air traffic control staffing constraints at Sydney causing widespread delays and knock-on disruption across the domestic network.

Europe

Europe's aviation network faced persistent disruption throughout August as record summer traffic combined with severe weather and ATC constraints. Traffic remained above 2025 levels, while weather-related delays increased 26% year-on-year. Mount Etna caused significant disruption at Catania, while convective weather intensified delays across the network late in the month. Despite these pressures, overall ATFM delays remained slightly below 2025 levels, highlighting comparatively resilient network performance during an exceptionally busy summer period.

North America

North America faced a combination of labour and weather-driven disruption throughout August. WestJet's cabin crew strike caused major disruption in Canada, with more than 900 flights ultimately cancelled during the operational shutdown and recovery period. Across the US, repeated summer thunderstorms impacted major hubs, particularly in the Northeast and Chicago, while Hurricane Lala brought further disruption to Hawaii. Weather-related disruption was compounded by air traffic control constraints, placing additional pressure on already busy summer operations.

Middle East and Africa

ME&A presented a contrasting picture in August. Middle East aviation continued to operate under pressure from geopolitical instability, with airspace restrictions, altered routings and reduced capacity affecting major markets. Africa, meanwhile, continued to expand, with scheduled capacity up 8.4% year-on-year. Disruption across Africa was more localised, although industrial action at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport stranded thousands of passengers and caused delays and cancellations at the end of the month.

Latin America

LATAM experienced a series of localised disruptions during August rather than a major region-wide event. A powerful earthquake in Colombia temporarily closed several airports, while volcanic activity at Puracé caused further disruption in the country's west. Adverse weather also affected operations across parts of Peru and Chile. In Argentina, the planned closure of Buenos Aires Aeroparque for runway works affected around 900 scheduled flights, although much of the operation was transferred to Ezeiza. Overall, disruption remained concentrated around individual markets and events rather than across the wider region.