IATA Releases 2025 World Air Transport Statistics

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released the latest edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS), providing comprehensive statistical data through to 2025.

Premium-Class Travel
- 109.7 million international premium passengers (business + first class), up 4.5% YoY.
- Share of premium travelers: 5.5% of all international passengers.
- Latin America saw the fastest growth (+22.1%).
- Europe remained the largest premium market (39.7m passengers).
- North America (10.4%) and Middle East (9.5%) had the highest premium share relative to total traffic.

Busiest Airport Pairs (2025)
- Global #1: Jeju (CJU) – Seoul Gimpo (GMP), 13.3m passengers.
- Africa: Cape Town – Johannesburg (CPT–JNB), 3.4m passengers.
- Latin America: Bogotá – Medellín (BOG–MDE), 3.5m passengers.
- Europe: Barcelona – Palma de Mallorca (BCN–PMI), 2.1m passengers.
- North America: JFK–LAX (domestic, 2.2m) and JFK–LHR (international, 2.1m).

Top Passenger Markets by Country (2025)

Notably, Kazakhstan (+40%) and Uzbekistan (+16.9%) were among the fastest-growing markets, while Vietnam (+14.8%) also surged.

Aircraft Usage Trends
- Boeing 737: 10.8m flights (+12% YoY).
- Airbus A320: 8.7m flights.
- Airbus A321: 4.2m flights (+61.6% since 2019).
- Airbus A220: 530k flights (+770% since 2019).
- Boeing 787: 795k flights (+40.8%).
- Airbus A350: 434k flights (+117.4%).
- Airbus A380: Decline to 90k flights (−24.4%).

Big Picture
- The industry shows strong recovery and growth, with premium travel rebounding, Asia-Pacific dominating domestic traffic, and newer fuel-efficient aircraft reshaping fleets.
- The U.S. and China remain the largest passenger markets, but Central Asia and Southeast Asia are emerging as growth hotspots.