The two regions recorded the lowest global rates of airline traffic growth, with Middle East carriers seeing a 3.7% rise in demand, close to an eight-year low. North American airlines’ traffic grew 4.8% in May, down from 10.3% in April.

The ban on laptops and other devices was introduced in March and has now mostly been lifted. Iata said the Middle East figures “reflects the ban on the carriage of large portable electronics devices (PEDs) in the cabin from 10 airports in the region to the US, as well as a wider impact on inbound travel to the US from President Trump’s proposed travel bans”.

It added that: “Anecdotal evidence also suggests that tourists may be deterred by the additional security measures put in place by the US government.”

In Europe, Iata found demand up 7.5% year on year, down sharply from 14.5% in April. However, capacity rose 5.2% and load factor was up 1.8 percentage points to 82.8%, the highest of any region.

Iata added: “Seasonally adjusted demand growth has moderated over the past three months, despite growing momentum in the region’s economy. This appears to relate mostly to a pause in the recovery in international traffic within the region.”

Overall, global demand rose 7.7% in May compared to a year earlier, well ahead of the five and 10-year growth average. May’s average load factor of 80.1% was a record high for the month.

Alexandre de Juniac, Iata director general and chief executive added: “Passenger demand is solid. And we don’t foresee any weakening over the busy summer months in the Northern Hemisphere.”