Overview
- IATA published the World Air Transport Statistics 2025 in mid‑July, compiling operational data from 1,315 airlines to provide a current snapshot of global passenger flows and fleet use.
- Nine of the world’s 10 busiest airport pairs were inside the Asia‑Pacific region in 2025, led by Jeju–Seoul Gimpo with 13.3 million passengers, and all top‑10 pairs were domestic routes.
- The United States and China remained the largest national markets with about 890.1 million and 776.1 million passengers respectively while India moved up to sixth with roughly 218.2 million passengers.
- IATA’s fleet figures show a clear shift to new‑generation types since 2019, with Airbus A350 flights up 117.4 percent, Boeing 787 flights up 40.8 percent, and Airbus A220 activity surging 770.4 percent.
- Narrowbody aircraft remain the backbone of dense domestic networks—Boeing 737 family flew 10.8 million flights in 2025—and the combined trends will influence airport capacity, carrier route plans, and manufacturer production choices.