Latin American aviation market

Latin America aviation market at a glance

Here are some of the top statistics from Latin America's aviation market this month:

• Overall capacity: 51.3 million seats (+0.8% vs last year)
• Largest airline: LATAM Airline Group (8.5m seats)
• Busiest airport: Bogota (2.4m seats)
• Largest international destination region: Lower South America (16.6m seats)

Airline capacity in Latin America

In Latin America this month there are 150 airlines with scheduled capacity and 512 airports.

How much airline capacity is there in Latin America?

• Overall capacity for Latin America increased by 0.8% to 51.3 million seats in April 2026.
• Domestic capacity grew by 1.2%, whilst international capacity grew by 0.4% vs the same month last year.
• Mainline carriers represent 63% of the market and grew by 1.1% vs April 2025, whilst LCCs grew by 0.3% year on year and account for 18.9 million seats.

*As of July 2025, international capacity is reported on a two-way basis (previously one-way departing).

Latin American countries' aviation markets

Which Latin American country has the most airline capacity (domestic + international)?

• Brazil remains the largest country market in April 2026 with 11.7m seats, growing by 2.1% vs last year.
• Capacity in Panama grew at the fastest rate of 11.4% vs last year, followed by the Dominican Republic which increased by 6.3%.
• Mexico recorded the largest reduction in capacity this month, with 12,100 fewer seats. Puerto Rico followed, with airlines operating 10,200 fewer seats than last year.
  

• Brazil is the largest domestic market with 10.3 million seats, increasing capacity by 1.8% (178,000 additional seats) vs last April.
• Belize recorded the fastest domestic capacity growth, up 17.4% versus April 2025 to 105,600 seats. Chile saw the second-fastest increase, with domestic capacity up 4% year on year after several months of reductions.
• Domestic capacity fell sharply in Bolivia, down 17.5%, and in Venezuela, down 12.2% compared with April 2025.

Top 10 busiest airports in Latin America (departing seats)

Which is the busiest airport in Latin America?

• Bogota remains the busiest airport in Latin America with 2.4m seats.
• Among the Top 10 largest airports in Latin America, Panama again recorded the strongest growth, with capacity up 13% versus April 2025, followed by Rio de Janeiro at 12.7% growth.

Airline capacity by region

Which region of Latin America has most capacity?

• Lower South America remains the largest Latin American region by capacity, with 16.6 million seats in April 2026 - an increase of 403,200 seats compared with April 2025.
• Central America is the second-largest region, adding 122,300 seats to reach 12.6 million seats in April 2026.
• Capacity to the Caribbean fell by 4.4% year on year, with 203,000 fewer seats, likely reflecting the impact of Easter falling earlier this year.

Top 10 airlines in Latin America by seats

Which is the biggest airline in Latin America?

• LATAM Airlines Group remains the region’s largest carrier with 8.5 million seats and grew capacity by 3.8% this month, adding 312,000 seats year on year.
• Jetsmart again recorded the fastest capacity growth this month, up 17.8% with 244,600 additional seats, followed by Copa Airlines with a 15.6% increase.

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