Global passport rankings are shifting, stretching far beyond border control and travel. Rising BRICS countries now hold some of the most powerful passports, while the U.S. and U.K. passports decline reflects weakening western influence in terms of aviation trends and travel diplomacy. These shifts in passport power are reshaping global mobility for travellers, airlines, and the politics of global mobility.
The Rise of BRICS passport rankings and Aviation Trends
The UAE passport rise shows how travel diplomacy strengthens aviation hubs. Over the past decade, the UAE added around 72 visa-free destinations with a total of 184 or 185 visa-free destinations for 2025, climbing 44 places on global passport rankings according to the Henley Passport Index, joining the most powerful passports in the world. This expansion reflects a diplomatic effort to secure visa-waiver agreements, reinforcing Dubai and Abu Dhabi as global aviation hot spots. Investments in aviation infrastructure, like the Dubai’s $35 billion airport, set to become the largest in the world, and Abu Dhabi International capacity expansion, enabled Emirates and Etihad global networks expansions. Emirates’ Airbus A380s are now regularly landing at major airports, while Etihad has built a premium global network, both benefitting from the country’s upgraded passport ranking and expanded mobility.
China is also leveraging travel diplomacy, showing the link between passport rankings power, travel diplomacy and aviation trends, pairing travel visa-free agreements with aviation growth and support for the Belt and Road infrastructure Initiative (BRI), to boost its global influence. Chinese nationals enjoy visa-free or mutual visa-free access to 75, including BRI partners. In early 2025, overall international flights were still below 2019 levels, but flights to 35 key countries exceeded pre-pandemic traffic, showing targeted growth on strategic routes. Visa-free arrivals reached nearly 20.12 million in 2024, up 112.3% from 2023, while total incoming entries reached 32.54 million, an 80.7% increase. Air China also launched or resumed major international routes, including Chengdu to Milan and Beijing to Riyadh.
India’s aviation growth and passport power boosts its global influence, having climbed eight spots to 77th on the Henley Passport Index in 2025. In turn, strategic travel diplomacy has led to more visa-free and visa-on-arrival agreements. Air India, under Tata ownership, is expanding network through a $400 million fleet retrofit and 570-aircraft order from Airbus and Boeing between early 2024 and late 2024. More mobility allows Indian nationals more travel freedom, support cultural exchange, businesses and wider global footprint. Rising passport rankings and expanded air connectivity enhances India’s soft power and positions it as a major player in global mobility, and shift aviation trends.
U.K .and U.S. Passports Decline and Its Impact on Mobility
The U.S. passport, once tied for first place with the United Kingdom’s in 2014, has fallen to 10th place, according to the July 2025 Henley Passport Index. Henley & Partners analysts partly associate the drop with “inward-looking policies”, visa free agreements, and limitations in immigration policy reciprocity, which limit Americans’ access to certain countries.
The U.S. gap between passport power and visa openness
The U.S. ranks 80th on the July 2025 Henley Openness Index, granting visa-free entry to just 46 nationalities and placing it well behind most European countries in visa openness for foreign visitors. This highlights the gap between the destinations Americans can access with one of the world’s most powerful passports in the world and the restrictions foreign travellers face when entering the U.S. Furthermore, immigration reform have repeatedly stalled in Congress, leaving strict visa requirements and long processing times unchanged.
The limited visa openness points to a reciprocity issue. While U.S. passport holders widely benefit from visa-free access to 182 countries and territories offering wide global mobility, many inbound foreign passports face hurdles due to factors such as long visa processing times, heightened border scrutiny, and the strong U.S. dollar. According to analysts, these barriers can discourage international visitors and affect travel diplomacy, where visa-free agreements increasingly reflect a country’s political and economic influence. The number of visa-free destinations a country offers is widely regarded as a measure of its openness and soft power.
The impact is visible in this year’s numbers. Oxford Economics projects an 8.2 percent decline in international overnight arrivals, with June arrivals down 3.4 percent compared with the same month in 2024. The latest forecast from Tourism Economics indicates that the number of overseas visits in 2025 will drop 15% below pre-pandemic levels.
Outbound travel tells the opposite trend. Americans spent $22 billion abroad in April alone and more than $215 billion annually, as reported by the U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office. This underlies how travel diplomacy, passport strength, and international perception shape global mobility.
Impact on mobility and aviation: The UK reduced visa free access and Schengen restrictions
The U.K has dropped from the world’s most powerful passport in 2014 and 2015 to 6th place, according to the latest Henley passport rankings, and enjoy having visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 186 destinations, an increase from 126 in 2006. However, analysts say in recent years, stricter immigration rules and lack of immigration policy reciprocity have weakened the UK’s global mobility and its role in travel diplomacy.
Since Brexit, UK travellers lost automatic access to the 29 Schengen countries and have faced new immigration rules. Starting this year, the EU’s ETIAS system requires Britons to pay for a travel pass to enter the Schengen area. Other countries are responding as well: Honduras ended its visa-free agreement with the UK in 2024, followed by Namibia in April 2025. Meanwhile, EU citizens are increasingly subject to the same immigration rules as non-EU nationals.
For UK travellers, holding one of the most powerful passports is so longer currency for extensive mobility and guarantee smooth travel. Brexit lost visa free agreements, and tighter reciprocity rules are reshaping mobility, and the EU/Exit System is set to add another layer of change at major European Airports.
EU Entry/ Exit System (EES) and its Impact on UK Travellers
The EU new entry/ Exit System, set to begin in October 2025, will change how British Travellers are processed when entering the Schengen Area. On their first visit, passengers will be required to provide fingerprints and facial biometric scan. This process will replace the current system of manual passport stamps and remain valid for 3 years, excluding children under 12 years old.
The system will operate at key UK departure points with French border control such as London St Pancras, Dover and Folkestone’s Eurotunnel terminal. It is also expected to affect the travel flows at major European airports like Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt Munich and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
The EES phased rollout will end in April 10 2026 and aims to strengthen border security and ensure the 90-day limit for short stays is tracked more accurately. During the transition, travellers can expect longer processing time, particularly during peak travel periods. Once the system is fully implemented, the system will also support the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS), expected in in the last quarter of 2026, requiring UK travellers to obtain pre-travel authorisation before entering the Schengen Area for a €20 fee.
Passport rankings now shape more than borders, they drive aviation trends, shaping who travels, where airlines fly, and how nations project influence worldwide. In the skies, global mobility is no longer guaranteed by tradition but through strategic diplomacy, reshaping the future of travel.
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