Airports Council International (ACI) World, the global representative body for airports, reported on Wednesday that a record number of 9.8-billion passengers had passed through the world’s airports last year. This figure was published in the 'ACI World’s 2026 Annual World Airport Traffic Report'. It was calculated using data from 2 817 commercial airports around the world, together responsible for about 97% of global scheduled passenger traffic. 

Almost all regions saw strong year-on-year passenger growth last year. The region with the greatest growth was Africa, at 9%, followed by the Middle East at 6.5%. The came the Asia-Pacific (5.1%), Latin America and the Caribbean (4.5%) and Europe (4.2%). The exception was North America, which saw a year-on-year decline of -0.7%, due to reduced domestic travel.

“The 2025 results confirm what this industry has shown year after year: long-term demand for air travel remains strong, and more capacity will be needed,” highlighted ACI World director-general Justin Erbacci. “Meeting that demand means expanding capacity while getting far more out of the infrastructure we already have. It also means advocating for regulation that enables investment rather than blocking it and never losing sight of the fact that airports are strategic assets for their communities.”

This rise in demand was driven by international travel. Passenger traffic jumped 6.1%, year-on-year.

Air cargo traffic also reached a record level last year, of 131.2-million tons. This is a year-on-year increase of 3.3%.

Aircraft movements at airports in 2025 reached 103.1-million. This is up 2% on the figure for 2024.

However, things were more complicated during the first half of this year, ACI World pointed out. Total global passenger traffic during this semester came to some 4.7-billion, which was a mere 0.6% increase over the same period last year, and represented a notable deceleration in pace, year-on-year.

Growth did continue in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific. North America was mainly flat. But the Middle East saw a fall of -21%, due to conflict and the concomitant airspace disruptions.

“Yet for all the near-term volatility, the report’s underlying message is one of confidence: the long-run drivers of aviation demand, i.e. rising populations, growing incomes, expanding connectivity and an enduring appetite for mobility remain firmly intact,” concluded ACI World.