World airports recorded **9.8 billion passenger movements** in 2025, a record according to the Airports Council International (ACI) World. This figure comes from a report published on September 23, based on data from 2,817 commercial airports, which account for about 97% of global regular passenger traffic. The number reflects the total number of times passengers boarded or deplaned at airports, including those making connecting flights. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports a slightly different number: **4.967 billion passengers** transported by flight segment in 2025. This method counts each leg of a journey separately. For example, a traveler who changes planes at a connecting airport would be counted twice—once for each flight segment. IATA also estimates **4.260 billion trips** from origin to destination, but this still does not reflect the number of unique individuals who traveled during the year. ACI World’s method of counting passenger movements explains the difference between its data and that of IATA. When a passenger travels directly from one city to another, they are counted once at departure and once at arrival. If they transfer to another flight, they are recorded twice at the connecting airport—once on arrival and once on departure. This approach leads to a higher overall count compared to IATA’s segment-based method. As a result, the two sets of data are not contradictory but reflect different ways of measuring activity. According to ACI World, international passenger traffic grew by 6.1% in 2025, outpacing the 1.7% increase in domestic traffic. Africa saw the highest regional growth at **+9%**, followed by the Middle East at **+6.5%** and the Asia-Pacific at **+5.1%**. Europe recorded a 4.2% increase, while North America saw a slight decline of **0.7%**. Air freight also hit a record, with **131.2 million tons** transported, a **3.3%** increase. Airports also recorded **103.1 million aircraft movements**, up **2%** from 2024. In the first half of 2026, airports recorded about **4.7 billion passenger movements**, a modest **0.6%** increase compared to the first half of 2025. The Middle East experienced the strongest regional decline at **-21%**, influenced by ongoing conflicts and airspace disruptions. ACI World notes that geopolitical tensions and rising costs are affecting short-term outlooks. However, it cautions that the performance in the first half of the year does not necessarily predict the full-year result.