By: Staff Writer
October 23, 2026
A new report commissioned by the Airports Council International Latin America and the Caribbean (ACI-LAC) and developed by Gestió i Promoció Aeroportuària (GPA) said that one quarter of airports in LAC handle over 55 percent of all scheduled capacity in the region.
The report, “Regional connectivity and market power in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said: “Connectivity analysis reveals an extensive yet highly heterogeneous air transport system in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The region has 546 commercial airports, though the network is characterized by a very large base of small airports and a relatively small number of major ones.
“Nearly three-quarters of these airports handle fewer than one million seats annually, while only 23 exceed 10 million. These 23 airports, however, account for 55.7% of the total scheduled capacity, reflecting the markedly hierarchical structure of the regional airport system. The largest air markets also account for a significant share of activity: Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia together represent more than half of the region’s scheduled seat capacity and passenger traffic.”
The LAC has recovered pre-pandemic levels of air capacity, but the extent of their connection network is still below 2019 levels.
Capacity recovery also varies across markets. After a 53.3 percent drop in 2020, scheduled seat capacity returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023. The study estimates 5.3 percent growth in both 2024 and 2025, and projects an additional 2.7 percent increase for 2026.
International connectivity, the main challenge
One of the report’s key findings is the difference between direct connectivity for domestic flights and international routes. According to 2025 demand data, 91.4 percet of passengers traveling within a single country reach their destination without stopovers. This figure drops to 68.5 percent for travel between Latin American and Caribbean countries and to 57.7 percent for travel between the region and external markets.
“Air transport supply across LAC has fully recovered from the impact of COVID-19, although the pace of recovery has varied considerably by country and segment. Following a sharp contraction in 2020, scheduled capacity returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2023 and has continued to grow, though this growth is moderating in 2026. The international network is primarily oriented toward connections within LAC and with the United States: intra-LAC services account for 45.6 percent of international seat capacity, while the United States accounts for another 35.3 percent. Nevertheless, despite the recovery in total capacity, the network currently features fewer connections than it did before the pandemic. In 2026, there are 3,306 airport pairs in LAC, compared to 3,959 in 2019. This contraction is concentrated primarily in connectivity outside of LAC, whereas the number of intra-LAC airport pairs has remained relatively stable.”
In addition to connectivity, an analysis of market concentration reveals a heterogeneous competitive landscape in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Concentration varies significantly by segment, country, and airport. At a regional level, intra-LAC international services are the most concentrated segment, while extra-LAC services are the least concentrated, due to the greater presence of foreign carriers. Low-cost carriers (LCCs) have achieved their highest penetration in domestic markets—accounting for nearly half of the scheduled capacity—but their role remains much more limited in intra-LAC international services.
Airport concentration also depends heavily on the specific role each airport plays within airline networks. Major hubs typically exhibit relatively high concentration due to the presence of dominant network carriers, while airports geared toward tourism tend to host a wider variety of operators. However, the highest levels of concentration are observed at the route level. In LAC, the average Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) per route exceeds 8,000; the leading airline typically accounts for 85–90 percent of capacity, and approximately two-thirds of routes are served by a single operator. This reflects limited overlap between airline networks, as well as the fact that many individual markets only generate enough demand to support one or two operators.