Airports and the air connectivity they enable supported 23.3 million jobs and contributed $244 billion to the economies of ASEAN member states in 2025, according to a new study by Airports Council International Asia-Pacific & Middle East (ACI APAC & MID).

The report, titled Strengthening the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM) for Greater Connectivity within and beyond ASEAN, provides the first comprehensive assessment of the economic contribution of airports across the region.

It examines how aviation supports trade, tourism, investment and employment while identifying policy, infrastructure and connectivity gaps that could limit the full potential of the ASEAN Single Aviation Market.

Airport-related activity alone, including direct airport operations, supply-chain effects and household spending, supported 1.6 million jobs and generated $55 billion in GDP across ASEAN in 2025.

The sector also generated an estimated $36 billion in government tax revenues, comprising $8 billion directly from airport activity and $28 billion through its wider economic impact across 11 ASEAN states.

The report highlights the strong expansion of regional air connectivity since the introduction of ASAM.

Direct air connectivity within ASEAN increased by 358% between 2004 and 2025, with the resulting gains associated with approximately $50.6 billion in GDP and six million jobs.

Almost all ASEAN member states recorded at least a doubling in scheduled seat capacity between 2004 and 2025.

 Much of the intra-ASEAN growth occurred between 2010 and 2015, coinciding with the signing of several ASAM-related protocols.

Low-cost carriers have also expanded their role in the regional market. They accounted for 51% of intra-ASEAN seats in 2025, compared with 29% in 2008, helping widen access to air travel.

The study found that Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia recorded the largest employment impacts from airport-related activity, with approximately 368,000, 335,000 and 282,000 jobs, respectively.

Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand recorded the largest GDP impacts, at around $22 billion, $11 billion and $7.7 billion.

Tourism remains a major beneficiary of regional connectivity. An estimated 84.8 million international tourists arrived in ASEAN by air in 2025, generating approximately $127 billion in tourism spending, equivalent to around two-thirds of total international tourism expenditure in the region.

ASEAN airports handled more than 700 million passengers and nearly nine million tonnes of cargo during the year.

The report also estimates significant additional economic benefits from the full implementation of ASAM.

In an unconstrained scenario, the policy could generate almost six million additional intra-ASEAN passengers, an 11.6% increase over 2025 traffic.

The resulting opportunity could include 15,000 additional aviation-sector jobs and $600 million in GDP, alongside a further 434,000 jobs and $3.7 billion in GDP generated through tourism, trade, investment and other wider economic effects.

Together, the potential gain would approach 450,000 jobs and $4.3 billion in additional GDP.

Stefano Baronci, Director General of ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East said: “ASEAN States have made historic strides with the ASEAN Single Aviation Market (ASAM), demonstrating what the ASEAN Community can achieve when governments and industry fly together. As withany ambitious regional agreement, ASAM is a continuous journey, but there is still scope for improvement to unlock its full potential. In a fast-evolving macroeconomic environment, high-stakes scenarios demand strategic trade-offs. To fully realise the opportunities ASAM has created, States must address remaining challenges around market access and traffic rights, starting with further opening of air connectivity to secondary cities, so that more local economies can benefit from increased traffic.”

The study stresses that liberalisation alone will not be sufficient to deliver the potential gains. Airport and airspace capacity, infrastructure investment and supportive regulatory frameworks will also be needed as passenger numbers increase.

“Lagging airport infrastructure development is another core factor that limits the liberalisation process in Southeast Asia, affecting the ability of airlines to fully capitalise the opportunities created by ASAM. With traffic expected to more than double in the ASEAN region in the next decade, supporting sustainable funding for airport expansions is of vital importance,” Baronci added.

ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East estimates that ASEAN airports will require approximately $108 billion in investment by 2036 to accommodate expected traffic growth.

A further $233 billion could be required between 2037 and 2056 as regional passenger traffic is projected to reach 2.9 billion, bringing the estimated 30-year investment requirement to around $341 billion.

Baronci added: “Meeting this demand will require airports to mobilise significant capital investment over the coming decade to expand capacity, modernise infrastructure and remain competitive within the region and beyond. ASEAN members must work together to accelerate implementation of existing air services agreements and address remaining capacity, regulatory and operational barriers to support sustainable aviation growth.”-TradeArabia News Service