Record numbers of travelers will take to the skies next year, an industry group is expecting. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released its worldwide forecast for the industry on Tuesday, and it says global airlines will likely ferry 5.2 billion passengers on more than 40 million flights.
“Looking at 2025, for the first time, traveler numbers will exceed five billion and the number of flights will reach 40 million,” said Willie Walsh, director general of the IATA. “This growth means that aviation connectivity will be creating and supporting jobs across the global economy.”
Besides the record passenger volumes, the IATA says the industry will also bring in a record amount of money — to the tune of about $1 trillion in revenue, the first-ever 13-figure haul. That money will net out to an expected $36 billion in profits.
Though lower fuel prices and more certainty about labor costs will help offset a long-term decline in airfares — the IATA says the average plane ticket is 44% cheaper than it was in 2014 — there are number of risks on the horizon. The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East could disrupt global operations, as could Donald Trump’s coming presidential administration.
“The incoming Trump Administration in the US brings with it several significant uncertainties,” the IATA said in its forecast. “Tariffs and trade wars would likely dampen demand for air cargo and potentially also impact business travel. Should these policies rekindle inflation with higher interest rates as a policy response, negative impacts on demand would be exacerbated.”