For2026, IATA forecasts a 4.9% YoY growth in passenger traffic (measured in RPK), led by the Asia Pacific region’s expansion by 7.3%. This marginal deceleration over 2025 is mainly because of persistent supply-side constraints, including limited aircraft availability, and labor shortages. Supply constraints continue to keep load factors at record highs, projected at 83.8%, which in turn supports yields and profits in an otherwise turbulent operating environment. Resilient traffic growth, together with stable yields should allow the industry to top the $1 trillion revenues for the first time in 2025.

By 2045, the middle class demographic most likely to fly will increase by 1.4 billion people (+34%). Global air traffic is robust and inextricably linked to world economic growth as well as people’s desire to travel. By 2045, air traffic will more than double, reaching about 10 billion passengers per year.

There are 40,000 to 44,000 airports in the world, depending on how you count small airfields, private strips, and paved or unpaved runways. Major global aviation groups like the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) track codes for a large portion of these active locations. By 2045, Airbus forecasts the percentage of the global fleet that will be made up of the newest generation aircraft will reach almost 100% from around 39% in 2026.

Record high load factors and fleet utilization, together with a rapid expansion of ancillary revenues, will allow airlines to maintain a relatively healthy profit amid the headwinds, with record high net profit of $41 billion in 2026, and a stable net margin of 3.9%. This impressive achievement should be possible despite softening fares and continuous cost pressure. It must be said, though, that the airline industry remains a low-margin industry. At the higher end of the spectrum, single companies can realize our entire industry’s total annual profit in a single quarter.

Regionally, Europe is set to deliver the highest net profit, very much thanks to Turkey’s stellar performance. The Middle East is the region with the highest profit margins. Asia Pacific is where growth is the most rapid, and Latin America shows signs of structural improvement. North America faces new headwinds, including stagnating domestic demand and operational constraints, yet it remains a key contributor to industry profitability.

In the next 20 years, urbanisation is shifting to smaller cities. With a rise in middle classes and the diaspora this will lead to new city pairings made economically viable thanks to increasingly efficient aircraft and growing passenger traffic volumes. Not only is aviation essential for the transportation of high value, quick to market goods, aviation also connects people for a multitude of reasons across the globe, providing an economic lifeline to many communities.

Sustainability is a priority for the airline industry, which is firmly committed to achieving net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. SAF is projected to cover less than 1% of total fuel consumption in 2026, in an unambiguous verdict on how ineffective the current policy environment is.

Air cargo volumes are estimated to have increased by 2.9% year-over-year (almost +8.8% versus 2019), to almost 128.9 million metric tonnes in 2025. Air cargo traffic is more concentrated amongst the main airports. Air cargo volumes in the top 10 airports represent close to 26% of global air cargo traffic. The increase is driven by strong e-commerce demand and supply chain adjustments.