Domestic air travel (primarily by Americans) set new records and showed modest growth or stability, while international inbound travel (foreign visitors arriving in the US) declined notably across most metrics and sources.
Key comparisons from 2025 data:
- Domestic air travel (measured via TSA checkpoint screenings, which are overwhelmingly domestic flights): Over 904–906 million passengers passed through TSA checkpoints, marking a new all-time annual record. This represented a slight increase of about 2.57 million passengers (under 1% growth) from 2024, with multiple days exceeding 3 million screenings (e.g., records in June and November). Domestic indicators remained relatively steady through much of the year, even as growth cooled from prior post-pandemic surges.
- International inbound travel (foreign visitors to the US, including by air): This sector weakened substantially. Estimates vary by source and scope (e.g., overseas only vs. including Canada/Mexico), but full-year declines included:
- Overall foreign visitors down ~6% (WTTC estimates, with the US welcoming around 68 million vs. higher prior projections).
- Overseas arrivals (excluding Canada/Mexico) down ~2.5%.
- Total international overnight arrivals down ~5–8% in various forecasts.
- Inbound air arrivals showed weakness, with monthly drops (e.g., non-US citizen arrivals down 2.9% in December) and year-long pacing 10–14% below prior levels in some periods.
- Sharpest hits from Canada (down 20–25%+), Western Europe, and parts of Asia, offset somewhat by gains from Mexico.
Broader context: Domestic travel (including but not limited to air) drove nearly all US tourism resilience in 2025, with Americans traveling more within the country offsetting inbound shortfalls. International inbound spending fell (e.g., projected losses of $8–12.5 billion), while domestic strength helped total travel spending edge up modestly.
In short, domestic air travel not only held strong but achieved historic highs, far outpacing the declining international inbound segment, which faced headwinds from economic, perceptual, and policy factors.