Airlines have revised their profit forecasts upwards to 33.9 billion euros in 2025 and estimate that profitability will stabilize in 2026, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced this Tuesday, 9th.
According to IATA, which brings together around 360 carriers representing 80% of world air traffic, the companies’ accumulated net profits in 2025 are expected to reach 39.5 billion dollars (33.90 billion euros), against the 36 billion dollars (30.89 billion euros) predicted in June during the association’s general assembly in New Delhi.
The number of passengers is expected to continue to grow next year, with 5.2 billion passengers, which would be a new record, added the association at a press conference at its headquarters in Geneva.
This improvement was attributed by IATA Director General Willie Walsh to a better than expected performance of air cargo transport activities, despite the “trade wars on all fronts triggered in April by American President Donald Trump”.
For 2026, IATA predicts total profits of US$41 billion, but “a stabilization of the profitability” of the companies, in a context of persistent problems with aircraft availability, he explained.
The symbolic threshold of 5 billion air passengers is expected to be surpassed next year, added the organization, which initially predicted this to happen this year, before revising its projections downwards in June.
With 5.2 billion plane trips, this number would represent an increase of 4.4% compared to the 4.98 billion forecast for this year, according to IATA. The record before the pandemic, of 4.54 billion passengers in 2019, was broken in 2024 (4.77 billion).