The number of flights performed globally by the airline industry has increased steadily since the early 2000s and reached 38.9 million in 2019. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the number of flights dropped to 18.3 million in 2020. The flight volume increased again in the following years and was forecasted to reach 38.7 million in 2024. The global airline industry The number of flights performed increased year-on-year continuously to transport both passengers and freight. The industry’s recent growth can be attributed to a combination of increasing living standards and decreasing costs of air travel. While North American and European airlines currently dominate in terms of both revenue and passengers flown, it is predicted that future growth will be highest in markets of Asia.

In 2023, the estimated number of scheduled passengers boarded by the global airline industry amounted to approximately 4.5 billion people. This represents a significant increase compared to the previous year since the pandemic started and the positive trend was forecast to continue in 2024, with the scheduled passenger volume reaching just below five billion travelers. Airline passenger traffic The number of scheduled passengers handled by the global airline industry has increased in all but one of the last decade. Scheduled passengers refer to the number of passengers who have booked a flight with a commercial airline. Excluded are passengers on charter flights, whereby an entire plane is booked by a private group. In 2023, the Asia Pacific region had the highest share of airline passenger traffic, accounting for one third of the global total.

The average for 2021 based on 152 countries was 15 million passengers. The highest value was in the USA: 666.15 million passengers and the lowest value was in Guatemala: 0 million passengers. The indicator is available from 1970 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The United States had the largest commercial air travel market in 2021, with just over 666 million passengers boarding planes registered to American and international air carriers. The next largest market was China, with more than 440 million passengers, while the Eurozone ranked in third place, with almost 252 million passengers.

Passenger measurement Measuring the number of passengers boarded by carriers registered in a country provides an indication of the size of that country’s airline industry, but it does not measure the amount of air travel in that country. For example, as Ryanair is registered in Ireland, all Ryanair flights count as Irish, even if the flight was between, say, Berlin and London. One way to measure the number of air passengers within a country is to look at the number of passengers passing through airports in that country. Alternatively, the level of travel within an airline market can be considered at the regional level, in which case North America slips back to third behind the Asia Pacific region and Europe. Erasing two decades of growth in global air travel Regardless of how passenger numbers are measured, global air travel increased rapidly over the last decade. However, this was not the case in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic erased two decades of global passenger traffic growth, cutting the number of air passengers to only 1.8 billion and the number of flights globally to 16.9 million. Looking at this period, the Middle East region was affected the most, with seat capacity down 63 percent compared to 2019.

Mexico No. of Passengers: Intl: American Airlines: World Airways data was reported at 0.000 Person in Dec 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 Person for Nov 2017. Mexico No. of Passengers: Intl: American Airlines: World Airways data is updated monthly, averaging 0.000 Person from Jan 1992 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 312 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7,105.000 Person in Mar 1997 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Dec 2017. Mexico No. of Passengers: Intl: American Airlines: World Airways data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Secretary of Tourism. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Mexico – Table MX.TA008: Number of Passengers: International Flights.

The impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) can be seen on every sector of the most affected countries as well as globally. In the week starting January 4, 2021, the number of scheduled flights worldwide was down by 43.5 percent compared to the week of January 6, 2020. The impact of COVID-19 on the Chinese aviation reached a peak in the week starting February 17, 2020, with flight numbers down by 70.8 percent. Aviation market prior to COVID-19 outbreak Before the coronavirus outbreak hit the globe, the aviation industry was improving at a steady pace across countries. For instance, the projected annual growth of revenue ton-miles (RTM) for international flights by U.S. commercial air carriers was at roughly four percent for the period between 2020 and 2040. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the forecasted aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market size in North America was over 22 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. After the adjustments with respect to radical changes driven by coronavirus shock, the North American MRO market is now estimated to generate roughly 12 billion U.S. dollars during the same period. Besides, it was estimated that between 2019 and 2038 over 260,000 technicians in the aviation industry will be demanded in the Asia Pacific region only. Aviation market after COVID-19 shock Coronavirus pandemic hit the passenger aviation much worse than cargo aviation because of lockdowns and bans restricting international travel across the globe. As a result of persisting COVID-19 shocks, passenger aviation is expected to lose roughly 370 billion U.S. dollars in 2020. Even though some countries started to recover as the coronavirus spread is being contained, the desired level of recovery may take at least several quarters or years. The change of airlines’ capacity will most likely remain at least ten percent below the 2019 levels. The longer recovery periods are attributed to several factors including the COVID-19 economic recession, confidence of people to travel, and stringent travel restrictions. Therefore, some institutions forecast the aviation industry to recover at a much slower pace than what was expected.

China Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Air Canada(AC) data was reported at 3.000 Unit in 24 Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 3.000 Unit for 23 Mar 2025. China Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Air Canada(AC) data is updated daily, averaging 2.000 Unit from Jan 2019 (Median) to 24 Mar 2025, with 2003 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.000 Unit in 05 Jan 2020 and a record low of 0.000 Unit in 24 Feb 2024. China Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Air Canada(AC) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Transportation and Storage Sector – Table CN.TM: VariFlight Flight Statistics: International Airlines: Total Operated Flight.

China Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Hunnu Air(MR) data was reported at 2.000 Unit in 24 Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.000 Unit for 23 Mar 2025. China Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Hunnu Air(MR) data is updated daily, averaging 2.000 Unit from Jan 2019 (Median) to 24 Mar 2025, with 834 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.000 Unit in 04 Jan 2025 and a record low of 0.000 Unit in 04 Feb 2024. China Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Hunnu Air(MR) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Transportation and Storage Sector – Table CN.TM: VariFlight Flight Statistics: International Airlines: Total Operated Flight.

Mexico No. of Passengers: Intl: CS: Mayan World Airlines data was reported at 0.000 Person in Dec 2017. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 Person for Nov 2017. Mexico No. of Passengers: Intl: CS: Mayan World Airlines data is updated monthly, averaging 0.000 Person from Jan 1992 (Median) to Dec 2017, with 312 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,987.000 Person in Apr 1998 and a record low of 0.000 Person in Dec 2017. Mexico No. of Passengers: Intl: CS: Mayan World Airlines data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Secretary of Tourism. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Mexico – Table MX.TA008: Number of Passengers: International Flights.

This statistic depicts the leading airline groups worldwide in 2020, based on passenger traffic. In that year, the ranking was dominated by Chinese airlines: China Southern topped the list, with 96.85 million passengers. Two decades of growth wiped out in a couple of months The coronavirus pandemic had a devastating impact on the airline industry, erasing decades of growth in just a couple of months. The restrictions imposed by governments around the world to restrain the spread of the novel coronavirus led to a 66 percent decrease in global air traffic. In 2020, 56 percent less flights were performed worldwide, while the number of passengers dropped by 61 percent to reach only 1.7 billion. Asian airlines are dominating the airline market Despite financial problems, four out of the top ten busiest airlines in the world were based in Asia. The rising middle classes in emerging economies are expected to help global air traffic grow at an average annual growth rate of four percent till 2040. Such emerging regions, particularly China, are on the cusp of becoming key markets for the aviation industry. In 2019, Chinese tourists spent a staggering 254.6 billion US dollars during their holidays outside their home country.

India All Scheduled Airlines: International: Number of Flight data was reported at 18,574.000 Unit in Jan 2025. This records an increase from the previous number of 18,324.000 Unit for Dec 2024. India All Scheduled Airlines: International: Number of Flight data is updated monthly, averaging 7,783.000 Unit from Apr 2001 (Median) to Jan 2025, with 281 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18,574.000 Unit in Jan 2025 and a record low of 273.000 Unit in May 2020. India All Scheduled Airlines: International: Number of Flight data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The data is categorized under India Premium Database’s Transportation, Post and Telecom Sector – Table IN.TA019: Airline Statistics: All Scheduled Airlines.

CN: Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: EgyptAir(MS) data was reported at 3.000 Unit in 25 Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 3.000 Unit for 24 Mar 2025. CN: Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: EgyptAir(MS) data is updated daily, averaging 2.000 Unit from Jan 2019 (Median) to 25 Mar 2025, with 1842 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.000 Unit in 10 Oct 2024 and a record low of 0.000 Unit in 27 Dec 2023. CN: Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: EgyptAir(MS) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Transportation and Storage Sector – Table CN.TM: VariFlight Flight Statistics: International Airlines: Total Operated Flight.

CN: Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Iberia(IB) data was reported at 1.000 Unit in 27 Nov 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 0.000 Unit for 01 Nov 2022. CN: Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Iberia(IB) data is updated daily, averaging 1.000 Unit from Jan 2019 (Median) to 27 Nov 2022, with 626 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.000 Unit in 17 May 2020 and a record low of 0.000 Unit in 01 Nov 2022. CN: Total Operated Flight: International Airlines: Iberia(IB) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Transportation and Storage Sector – Table CN.TM: VariFlight Flight Statistics: International Airlines: Total Operated Flight.

Flights made by global airline alliances increased to 17.65 million in 2018, compared to 17.22 million in the preceding year. The global airline alliances are Oneworld, SkyTeam and Star Alliance.

Global airlines' combined passenger load factor has been gradually trending upward over the last 15 years; from 75.2 percent in 2005 to 82.6 percent in 2019. In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, passenger load factor dropped to 65 percent. However, it rebounded and forecast to reach 82,5 percent in 2024.
Passenger load factor Passenger load factor (PLF) is a measure of how much of an airline’s passenger carrying capacity has been utilized. It is calculated by dividing the revenue passenger kilometers, which is the total number of kilometers flown by passengers, by the available seat kilometers, which is the total number of kilometers flown for every seat in an aircraft (regardless of whether it has been filled or not). A higher passenger load factor therefore means that there are less empty seats on each aircraft, but does not indicate anything about changes in the total number of kilometers flown per passenger or per seat . PLF and profitability As airlines have fixed costs associated with every flight, a higher PLF will generally mean a higher profit margin for airlines. PLF is only one factor affecting total profitability though, meaning increases in PLF do not necessarily correspond with higher profits. In particular, the cost of airline fuel, which can be highly variable, has a strong effect on the operating margin of airlines. This can be seen clearly in through the jump in profitability from 2014 to 2015, which corresponds with a steep drop in the expenditure required for fuel.

China Total Scheduled Flight: International Airlines: Air Siam(O8) data was reported at 2.000 Unit in 27 Mar 2021. This stayed constant from the previous number of 2.000 Unit for 13 Oct 2020. China Total Scheduled Flight: International Airlines: Air Siam(O8) data is updated daily, averaging 2.000 Unit from Jan 2019 (Median) to 27 Mar 2021, with 95 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.000 Unit in 27 Mar 2021 and a record low of 1.000 Unit in 12 Oct 2020. China Total Scheduled Flight: International Airlines: Air Siam(O8) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by VariFlight. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Transportation and Storage Sector – Table CN.TM: VariFlight Flight Statistics: International Airlines: Total Scheduled Flight.

China Total Operated Flight: Domestic Airlines: Shenzhen Airlines(ZH) data was reported at 703.000 Unit in 24 Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 715.000 Unit for 23 Mar 2025. China Total Operated Flight: Domestic Airlines: Shenzhen Airlines(ZH) data is updated daily, averaging 671.500 Unit from Jan 2019 (Median) to 24 Mar 2025, with 2264 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 821.000 Unit in 05 Aug 2024 and a record low of 46.000 Unit in 19 Feb 2020. China Total Operated Flight: Domestic Airlines: Shenzhen Airlines(ZH) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Transportation and Storage Sector – Table CN.TM: VariFlight Flight Statistics: Domestic Airlines: Total Operated Flight.

Total Operated Flight: Domestic Airlines: China West Air(PN) data was reported at 193.000 Unit in 24 Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 193.000 Unit for 23 Mar 2025. Total Operated Flight: Domestic Airlines: China West Air(PN) data is updated daily, averaging 147.000 Unit from Jan 2019 (Median) to 24 Mar 2025, with 2264 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 217.000 Unit in 10 Feb 2025 and a record low of 5.000 Unit in 29 Nov 2022. Total Operated Flight: Domestic Airlines: China West Air(PN) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Transportation and Storage Sector – Table CN.TM: VariFlight Flight Statistics: Domestic Airlines: Total Operated Flight.

The global fuel consumption by commercial airlines increased each year since 2009 and reached an all-time high of 95 billion gallons in 2019. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the fuel consumption dropped to only 52 billion gallons in 2020. As of 2021, commercial airlines increased their fuel consumption, which was forecast to rise to 92 and 99 billion gallons in 2023 and 2024, respectively.

This statistic shows the average number of flight hours per aircraft flown by business aircraft worldwide from 2014 to 2021 and broken down by quarter. In the third quarter of 2021, each aircraft flew an average of 30.9 hours.