IATA says US air travel to lag global growth in 2026 and beyond

[SINGAPORE] Travel demand in the US is unlikely to catch up to international growth in the near future, the head of the leading global aviation association said at the Singapore Airshow.

“Expected growth in the US market is lower than the global average,” International Air Transport Association (IATA) director general Willie Walsh said on Tuesday (Feb 3).

Demand will grow by 4.9 per cent around the world while remaining “broadly flat” in the US, and the organisation expects that trend to last beyond 2026, he said.

Consolidation, focus on domestic travel even as it stagnates, a shortage in aircraft and problems in the supply chain affecting major US airlines contributed to stagnation in the American market, Walsh said.

Global airlines stand to earn a record US$41 billion this year, with Europe contributing the most as US carriers grapple with fallout from tariffs, tighter immigration enforcement and heightened geopolitical tensions.

Walsh also said that he has faith in aviation regulators to operate without intervention, after US President Donald Trump threatened to decertify planes made in Canada over certification of Gulfstream jets.

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“It creates noise in the background, but I have full confidence in both the professionals at the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and in safety regulators in other parts of the world, and I don’t believe politics will interfere in that,” he said.

Trump last week said that he’d apply a 50 per cent tariff to planes made in Canada and strip them of globally recognised safety permits. He complained Ottawa has not yet approved certain jets made by Gulfstream, a unit of General Dynamics, that have already been certified by the FAA. BLOOMBERG