The Airports Council International (ACI) World has released its annual World Airport Traffic Forecasts (WATF) 2023-2025 study, highlighting that global passenger traffic is set to reach 9.7 passengers by the end of 2024; surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
This is further expected to double by 2024 and increase by two and a half times by 2025, with the market also expected to transition from advanced economies to emerging and developing ones. “Investing responsibly in current and new infrastructure remains key to ensuring that we can sustainably meet capacity growth to maximize the social and economic benefits of aviation,” highlighted ACI World director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira.
Between 2023 and 2042, advanced economies are expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 3.2% for total passenger traffic, with emerging and emerging economies a ‘more robust’ CAGR of 5.4%.
By 2024, international passenger traffic is forecasted to reach four billion, with domestic passenger traffic reaching 5.7 billion. In 2042, these are expected to rise to 8.7 billion and 10.6 billion respectively, with China overtaking the US to become the top global market (a position ACI World expects to continue into 2052). India, currently the third market in terms of global passenger traffic forecast, is expected to remain in third space. Notably, the Russian Federation is expected to rise from its current 14th place to ninth in 2042, falling again to 12 by 2052.
ACI World: global traffic to reach 9.7 billion in 2024
