Air passenger volume surges 55%

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Air passenger traffic volume surged by 55 percent to 50.2 million in the full year of 2023, from 32.3 million passengers recorded in the previous year, driven by the significant recovery of domestic travel, according to the Civil Aeronautics Board’s (CAB) latest data.

The number of domestic air passengers grew by 29 percent to 28.97 million last year from 22.5 million in the previous year.

Last year’s traffic volume was slightly lower compared to the pre-pandemic level of 29.5 million passengers as domestic carriers fully recover their domestic operations.

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International passenger volume more than doubled to 21.2 million last year from 9.83 million in 2022. Of the total passengers flown last year, 9.75 million were from the domestic carriers while 11.5 million flew via international carriers, the CAB data showed.

Cebu Pacific and  unit CebGo remain in the lead with a total of 18.08 million passengers flown last year, up by 37 percent from the previous year’s 13.2 million passengers.

The airline still leads in the domestic market with a total of 15.1 million passengers flown last year which is attributed to its aggressive network expansion.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) and unit PAL Express flew 14.02 million passengers last year, which is over 50 percent higher than the 9.25 million passengers tallied in the previous year.

The flag carrier remains the leader in the international market operation with 5.52 million passengers carried last year from 3.35 million in 2022, according to the CAB.

Philippines AirAsia flew 5.59 million passengers last year versus 3.8 million passengers in the previous year.

For this year, local airline operators are expected to fully recover their international operations following aggressive aircraft acquisition and network expansion to address the rising travel demand.

Amid a higher fuel surcharge set this month, airlines are expected to continue offering competitive ticket prices.

Fuel surcharge for both cargo and passenger services is now at level 6 from level 5 last month.

Depending on the destination, a level 6 fuel surcharge would mean an additional P185 to P665 for domestic flights and P610.37 to P949.51 for international flights.

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