Global air travel moved closer to the 10 billion-passenger mark in 2025, with the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang emerging as one of the biggest gainers in global rankings, according to data released by Airports Council International (ACI) World.
KLIA climbed six places to 20th from 26th in 2024, the largest jump among the world’s 20 busiest airports, after handling 63.4 million passengers, an 11 per cent increase from a year earlier.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport recorded the second-largest improvement, rising five places to fifth from 10th after passenger traffic grew 10.7 per cent, supported by China’s easing of visa policies, expanded international connectivity and a rebound in overseas travel.
The 2026 ACI World Airport Traffic Dataset showed global passenger traffic reached 9.8 billion in 2025, up 3.7 per cent from 2024 and 6.5 per cent above pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
The dataset, covering 2,817 airports across more than 180 countries and territories, showed the world’s 20 busiest airports handled 1.59 billion passengers, accounting for 16 per cent of global traffic. Airports in the Asia-Pacific region recorded the biggest shifts in the rankings, driven by infrastructure expansion, improved connectivity and strong tourism demand.
ACI World director general Justin Erbacci said global air travel is approaching a historic milestone, but record demand is also exposing growing pressures on capacity.
“The planning and investment decisions made today will determine whether aviation can meet the demands of the next generation of travellers,” he said.
Global air cargo volumes rose 3.3 per cent to more than 131 million metric tonnes in 2025, exceeding 2019 levels by 7.4 per cent, as e-commerce growth and supply chain reconfiguration continued to support demand for air freight.
The world’s top 20 cargo airports handled 53.1 million metric tonnes, or nearly 41 per cent of global cargo volumes, up 2.4 per cent from 2024.
Aircraft movements worldwide increased 2.0 per cent to more than 103.1 million in 2025, returning to around pre-pandemic levels. The top 20 airports recorded 11.3 million aircraft movements, representing 11 per cent of the global total, up 2.5 per cent from 2024 and 2.8 per cent above 2019 levels. – NST ONLINE
