FIFA World Cup 2026 spurs uneven flight demand across host cities

Dhaka: Flight bookings to the 2026 FIFA World Cup host cities are rising compared to June–July 2025, though the growth is unevenly distributed, according to data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The tournament, scheduled across 16 cities in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, will be the first World Cup hosted by three nations. It will also feature an expanded 48-team format, up from 32, with 104 matches played over 39 days.

The opening match will be held in Mexico City, while MetLife Stadium in the New York area will host the final, making this the largest World Cup in history by nearly every measure.

IATA data shows stronger booking gains are concentrated in globally connected hub cities, where international demand is scaling up early. The pattern broadly mirrors the host-city hierarchy.

More mature tourism markets are seeing modest increases, as the World Cup represents an incremental uplift rather than a transformative shift — partly due to their already-high demand baseline.

Meanwhile, some Mexican host cities are experiencing a decline in bookings. IATA attributes this to a potentially later booking curve, greater reliance on regional and short-haul travelers, and Mexico's role in hosting only the group stage and early knockout rounds.

The multi-country format is expected to generate significant cross-border flying, as fans following their teams will move between venues across different nations.

To facilitate travel, FIFA introduced the FIFA PASS, a system allowing ticket holders to obtain prioritized US visa interview appointments. The US is also deploying 500 additional consular officers to manage the anticipated surge in visa applications ahead of the tournament.