Airports Council International (ACI) World reported a slowdown in air passenger traffic growth in the first half of 2026, reflecting a challenging global environment for commercial aviation.
An estimated 4.7 billion passengers passed through the world's airports in the first six months of 2026, up 0.6% year over year, “a marked slowdown from 2025's pace,” the organization said.
According to final numbers for 2025 released by ACI World, world passenger traffic for the year totaled 9.8 billion, up 4.3% over 2024. But that level of growth has stalled.
The organization said an “unsettled picture [is] emerging in 2026. Geopolitical tensions, airspace disruption and rising costs have begun to reshape the industry's near-term outlook.”
Passenger numbers in the first half of 2026 were weighed down by North America, where traffic was flat compared to the same period in 2025, and by the Middle East, where traffic declined 21% compared to the prior year.
The region faced the “escalating crisis” of the Iran war and frequent “airspace disruption,” ACI World said.
But it, alongside other world regions, showed strong growth in 2025. Final figures for the year released by ACI World showed global international passenger traffic increasing 6.1% versus 2024, while domestic traffic grew 1.7% year over year.
“Passenger growth was strong across almost every region [in 2025],” ACI World said. Africa posted a 9% year-over-year rise in passengers in 2025. The Middle East had the second-fastest rate of growth in 2025 at 6.5%, highlighting how dramatic the drop in the first half of 2026 has been.
Asia-Pacific traffic grew 5.1% year over year in 2025, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (up 4.5%) and Europe (up 4.2%). North America, however, saw a 0.7% decline in passengers in 2025 compared to 2024.
“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,” ACI World Director General Justin Erbacci said. “Meeting that demand means expanding capacity while getting far more out of the infrastructure we already have.”
While noting “near-term volatility,” the organization said that “long-run drivers of aviation demand, i.e., rising populations, growing incomes, expanding connectivity and an enduring appetite for mobility, remain firmly intact.”
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