Global airport passenger traffic reaches record 9.8bn in 2025, says ACI
Airports worldwide carried a record 9.8bn passengers in 2025, according to Airports Council International (ACI) World, with air cargo volumes also hitting an all time high. But momentum has cooled in ...
In 2025, airports worldwide handled a record-breaking 9.8 billion passengers, according to the Airports Council International (ACI) World. Air cargo also reached an all-time high with 131.2 million tonnes, while aircraft movements hit 103.1 million. ACI attributed this growth to strong long-term demand for air travel, citing rising populations, increasing incomes and expanding connectivity.
However, momentum slowed in 2026 as geopolitical tensions, airspace disruption and higher costs began to impact the industry. Despite this, international travel remained the primary driver of growth, with passenger traffic up 6.1% year-over-year, outpacing domestic growth of 1.7%. Air cargo expanded 3.3%, and aircraft movements increased 2.0%.
Geographic growth was strongest in Africa (9.0%), the Middle East (6.5%), Asia Pacific (5.1%) and Latin America and the Caribbean (4.5%). Europe saw a 4.2% increase, while North America was the only region to see a decline (0.7%) due to softer domestic demand. Looking ahead to the first half of 2026, passenger traffic grew to about 4.7 billion, a modest 0.6% increase from the same period in 2025.
Continued growth was noted in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia Pacific, while North America remained flat. The Middle East experienced the steepest decline, with traffic down 21% due to ongoing crisis and airspace disruption.
Written by urgent.news from Gulf Times Business's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
