ASIA PACIFIC. The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has revealed a sharp year-on-year rise in international passenger demand in April, reflecting the strong growth of both business and leisure markets.
Latest preliminary traffic figures released by the association showed the number of international passengers carried by the region’s airlines last month reached 28 million, up +32% compared to the same month in 2023.
Overall passenger volume in April represented 87.3% of the figures recorded in pre-pandemic 2019.
Measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK), international passenger demand increased by +33.7% year-on-year, indicating the notable strength of longer haul markets, AAPA noted.
Available seat capacity jumped by +30.4% year-on-year, leading to a 2.1 percentage point increase in the average international passenger load factor to 81.6% for the month.
AAPA Director General Subhas Menon said: “Improving economic sentiment, coupled with high demand on major routes connecting Asia and other regions, including Europe and Southwest Pacific, drove growth in long haul travel markets, while travel demand within the region remained buoyant, underpinned by the easing of visa policies and resilient expansion in the region’s economies.
“Overall, the number of international passengers carried rose by +51% to a total of 117 million for the first four months of the year.”
Looking ahead, Menon noted: “Positive business and consumer confidence levels are likely to support continued growth in air passenger and cargo markets in the coming months.
“Nevertheless, supply chain constraints and higher operating costs remain a concern, while geopolitical tensions continue to cloud the outlook of the industry. Against this background, the region’s carriers remain focused on improving operational efficiency and growing sustainably, while upkeeping safety standards.” ✈
