GENEVA – The number of air travellers around the world is expected to surpass five billion for the first time in 2025 as travel becomes increasingly affordable, said the International Air Transport Association (Iata).

Some 5.22 billion passengers are expected to take to the skies in the coming year, a 6.7 per cent increase from the 4.89 billion forecast for 2024, the airline industry body said at its global media day in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec 10.

Airfares and airlines’ revenue sources other than ticketing – otherwise known as passenger yield – are expected to fall by 3.4 per cent in 2025.

At US$380 (S$509), the average return airfare in 2025 is forecast to be 1.8 per cent lower than in 2024 (US$387).

Passenger demand – measured by revenue passenger kilometres, or the volume carried by airlines – is set to expand by 8 per cent in 2025, overtaking an expected 7.1 per cent expansion in capacity.

Demand in the Asia-Pacific, the largest market globally, will continue to rise. It is expected to grow 18.6 per cent in 2024, driven in part by visa relaxations in countries such as China and Vietnam, and is set to rise by another 11.7 per cent in 2025.

As capacity increases steadily, the number of flights worldwide is expected to hit the 40 million mark for the first time in 2025, rising by 4.6 per cent from 2024, said Iata at the yearly briefing in its Geneva office attended by more than 100 journalists from around the world.

The association represents about 340 airlines that form ...