US remains largest air passenger market as growth slows, IATA says

The United States remained the world's largest air passenger market in 2025, but had the slowest growth among the world's 10 biggest markets, industry data showed.

Industry body IATA said 890.1 million passengers took off or landed in the United States last year, up 1.6 percent from 2024. China was the second-biggest market, with passenger numbers rising 4.8 percent to 776.1 million.

A range of forecasts project that China will become the world's largest air passenger market in the 2030s. Aircraft maker Airbus estimates that China's domestic flights market will be about one third larger than the US domestic market by 2045.

IATA said the United Kingdom was the world's third-biggest air passenger market in 2025, with 269.7 million domestic take-offs and landings. Spain followed with 252.7 million passengers, and Japan had 223.5 million.

The four busiest domestic air routes last year were Jeju-Seoul, with 13.3 million passengers; Sapporo-Tokyo, with 9.6 million; Fukuoka-Tokyo, with 9.5 million; and Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City, with 8.9 million. The busiest US route, New York-Los Angeles, had 2.2 million passengers. In Europe, the Barcelona-Palma de Majorca route carried 2.1 million passengers.

IATA said it compiles its data from 1,315 airlines. It said the Boeing 737 was the most used aircraft in the world last year, with 10.8 million flights, followed by the Airbus A320 with 8.7 million flights and the Airbus A321 with 4.2 million.