Updated each year with data from over 240 international airlinesthe WATS report of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) gives a clearer picture of developments in air transport. IATA analyses geographical factors, supply and demand, aircraft movements and product trends.
The report includes detailed breakdown of passenger traffic, available capacity, an overview of the world fleet and the main airport links.
Finally, the report provides numerous indicators on the financial health of both the sector and individual airlines.
Strong growth in premium classes
One of the main findings of this year's report is the growth in international travel in premium classes - business and first class. Passenger numbers in these classes have actually increased by 11.8 %. It thus exceeds the growth in economy class traffic, which stood at 11.5 %.
The total number of international passengers travelling in premium class in 2024 was 116.9 millionor 6 % of all international passengers.
The region Asia-Pacific recorded the strongest growth in percentage terms, with a 22.8 % increase in premium passengers. For a total of 21 million. However, this figure was exceeded by the growth in the number of economy class passengers. Economy classes in Asia were up by 28.6 % à 500.8 million.
Growth in premium class travel has outstripped that of economy class in Europein Latin Americaat Middle East and in North America. L'Europe remains the largest market for international travel in premium class, with 39.3 million of passengers. However Middle East that the proportion of premium travellers is the highest, representing 14.7 % of all passengers.
Main air routes and aircraft used
The Asia-Pacific region crushes the ranking of the world's busiest air routes. Jeju-Séoul Kimpo (CJU-GMP) came out on top, with 13.2 million passengers by 2024. Of the top 10, only the Jeddah-Riyadh (JED-RUH) is not in the Asia-Pacific region.
The road Bogota-Medellin (BOG-MDE) was the busiest inLatin America with 3.8 million of passengers. South Africa is the continent's most important route: Cape Town-Johannesburg (JNB-CPT) registered 3.3 million passengers in 2024.
Visit North America, no surprise New York JFK-Los Angeles (JFK-LAX) with the highest number of visitors 2.2 million of passengers. While in Europe, Barcelona-Palma de Mallorca (BCN-PMI) is number 1 with 2 million of travellers.
Single-aisle aircraft from Boeing and Airbus were the most popular in 2024. The various models of Boeing 737 have carried out 10 million flights, representing 2.4 billion available seat kilometres (ASK). They are followed by theAirbus A320 with 7.9 million thefts and 1.7 billion ASK. In third place comesAirbus A321 with 3.4 million thefts and 1.1 billion ASK.
Country with the highest number of passengers
The United States remains the world's largest aviation market, with 876 million passengers in 2024, underpinned by a robust domestic market that grew by 5.2 % over one year. The China comes in second place with 741 million passengers, an increase of 18.7 % compared with 2023. A distant third is United Kingdom with 261 million air travellers, up 7,3%.
