Uzbekistan Aviation Market Grows 16.9% in 2025, IATA Says

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has published the latest edition of the World Air Transport Statistics (WATS) report, featuring final data for global civil aviation in 2025.

One of the main conclusions of the study is that Central Asian countries were among the most dynamic aviation markets on the planet.

Uzbekistan served 12.5 million air passengers by the end of the year, which is 16.9 percent higher than the figure from the previous year. Kazakhstan demonstrated an even more impressive dynamic, with passenger traffic in the neighboring republic jumping by 40 percent to reach 18.1 million people. Outside the region, Vietnam showed high growth rates with 80.9 million passengers, an increase of 14.8 percent.

For comparison, the world's largest aviation market, the United States, grew by only 1.6 percent with 890.1 million passengers, showing the weakest dynamic in the top 10 countries. China took second place with 776.1 million passengers, up 4.8 percent, followed by the United Kingdom with 269.7 million, Spain with 252.7 million, and Japan with 223.5 million. Türkiye rounded out the top 10 with 129.3 million passengers.

The annually updated WATS report covers industry demand, capacity, and operational efficiency indicators. The calculations include data from 1,315 airlines, with over 250 international carriers providing specialized reporting to IATA.

A separate section of the study is dedicated to premium travel. In 2025, 109.7 million passengers used business and first class on international routes, which is 4.5 percent more than the previous year. This represents 5.5 percent of all international travelers. The sharpest growth in the premium segment was recorded in Latin America, up 22.1 percent, while Europe remains the largest market with 39.7 million passengers.

The South Korean route between Jeju and Seoul (Gimpo) once again became the world's busiest air route, with 13.3 million people flying it during the year. Nine out of the ten busiest airport pairs are located in the Asia-Pacific region, and all ten are domestic routes. The Saudi Arabian line between Jeddah and Riyadh was the sole exception to Asian dominance.

In the fleet segment, narrow-body aircraft maintain leadership. The Boeing 737 family performed 10.8 million flights during the year, a 12 percent increase compared to 2024, while the Airbus A320 performed 8.7 million flights and the A321 performed 4.2 million flights. Among wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 are expanding their presence the fastest, with their number of flights increasing by 40.8 percent and 117.4 percent respectively compared to 2019. Conversely, operations of the giant A380 decreased by nearly a quarter.