2024 Rankings: US, China, UK Dominate Passenger Markets  

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has released its 2024 edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) report, revealing the biggest passenger markets 2024. The United States, China, and the United Kingdom ranked first, second, and third respectively, accounting for a combined total of 1.88 billion air travelers.

The United States recorded 876 million passengers, driven primarily by its large domestic market. China followed with 741 million passengers, reflecting an 18.7% increase from 2023.

The United Kingdom came third with 261 million travelers, up 7.3% year-on-year. These figures include both domestic and international traffic and underscore a strong rebound in global passenger markets.

The WATS report, based on data from over 240 airlines, offers a comprehensive view of global air transport performance. It includes statistics on passenger and cargo traffic, capacity, airline fleets, financial health, and operational efficiency. This annual publication provides valuable insight into airline trends and emerging market dynamics.

A standout trend in the 2024 report was the strong recovery across global passenger markets, particularly in premium-class travel. International business and first-class traffic grew by 11.8%, slightly outpacing the 11.5% growth in economy-class travel.

Altogether, premium-class travelers totaled 116.9 million, accounting for 6% of total international passengers. In terms of regional passenger markets, Asia Pacific led with a 22.8% increase in premium-class traffic, totaling 21 million passengers. Despite this, economy-class growth in the region surged more dramatically, up 28.6% to 500.8 million passengers.

However, in regions such as Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East, premium-class growth outpaced economy. Europe had the largest volume of premium international passengers at 39.3 million, while the Middle East recorded the highest percentage share of premium travelers at 14.7%.

The report also detailed air traffic by route. The world’s busiest air corridor remained the Jeju–Seoul (CJU–GMP) route in South Korea, which carried 13.2 million passengers in 2024. Asia Pacific dominated the list of top airport pairs globally. The only non-Asia Pacific route among the top 10 was Jeddah–Riyadh (JED–RUH) in Saudi Arabia.

For other regions, the report listed the top intra-regional routes. In Africa, the Cape Town–Johannesburg (CPT–JNB) route was the busiest, handling 3.3 million passengers. Latin America’s busiest passenger markets was Bogota–Medellin (BOG–MDE) with 3.8 million passengers.

North America’s most trafficked route was New York JFK–Los Angeles (JFK–LAX), which served 2.2 million passengers. In Europe, Barcelona–Palma de Mallorca (BCN–PMI) led with 2 million travelers.

Regarding aircraft utilization, Boeing and Airbus narrowbody jets dominated operations worldwide. The Boeing 737 family flew 10 million flights and recorded 2.4 trillion Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs), making it the most used aircraft globally.

The Airbus A320 followed with 7.9 million flights and 1.7 trillion ASKs, while the A321 completed 3.4 million flights with 1.1 trillion ASKs. The Airbus A220 posted significant growth, with over 411,000 flights and 66.6 billion ASKs—a 21.7% increase over the previous year.

WATS also reviewed financial and operational data such as airline operating costs, revenues, fleet composition, aircraft utilization, and workforce numbers. These metrics help identify key recovery areas and longer-term shifts in global air travel patterns.

The biggest passenger markets 2024 also saw significant contributions from Spain, India, and Japan. Spain had 241 million travelers, up 10.7%, while India moved 211 million passengers, up 11.1%. Japan’s air traffic increased by 18.6% to 205 million passengers, reflecting its rapid recovery post-pandemic.

In summary, the 2024 WATS report highlights the enduring dominance of the United States, China, and the United Kingdom’s passenger markets in global aviation. The data also underscores significant growth in Asia Pacific and strong recovery in premium travel. As airlines continue to adapt to market shifts and rebuild capacity, the WATS database remains an essential industry benchmark.