Foreword by World Economic Forum and industry leaders Aviation’s journey towards sustainability is facing strong headwinds in 2026, with a record 9.8 billion passengers expected worldwide this year and the highest volume of cargo ever transported by air in 2025. While this strong growth provides a positive outlook on the overall profitability of the industry, challenges are mounting when it comes to moving the sector towards net zero. From clean technology costs and deployment challenges to disruptions driven by geopolitics, wars, trade tensions, cybercrime and climate change, the world has evolved rapidly and profoundly since a year ago, when the World Economic Forum published its first Global Aviation Sustainability Outlook. Aviation-specific events during 2025 clearly demonstrated how growing and greening the sector are two goals competing among a host of different priorities for executives’ attention. The industry is also seeking to double down on safety, increase operational efficiency, navigate air traffic disruptions, improve passenger experience and drive affordability – while at the same time innovating through new business models, frontier technologies, materials and data. As international aviation faces these complementary – and sometimes conflicting – opportunities and risks, it is coming under increasing scrutiny to see whether and how it chooses to advance climate action. Sebastian Buckup Managing Director, World Economic Forum Gene Gebolys President and Chief Executive Officer, World Energy Chaiwat Kovavisarach Group Chief Executive Officer and President, Bangchak Corporation Public Company Ltd Lisa Wee Chief Sustainability Officer, AVEVA Jimmy Samartzis Chief Executive Officer and Board Director, LanzaJet Theye Veen Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, SkyNRG Hassan El-Houry Executive Chairman, Menzies Aviation Paul Griffiths Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Airports Julian Wentzel Group Chief Sustainability Officer, HSBC Deborah Flint President and Chief Executive Officer, Greater Toronto Airports Authority Global Aviation Sustainability Outlook 2026 6