IATA: Global Air Passengers To Reach 7 billion by 2034

The International Air Transport Association projects global air passenger numbers will grow 3.8 percent annually to reach 7 billion in 2034, double the 3.5 billion passengers projected for 2015. IATA has scaled back from an earlier forecast, when it projected a 4.1 percent annual growth rate to 7.4 billion passengers by 2034. The revision owes to “negative developments in the global economy, especially slower economic growth projections for China,” according to the association. Even so, IATA projects that the number of passengers traveling to, from and within China will grow the fastest, meaning China will overtake the United States as the world’s largest air passenger market by 2029.