Air passenger traffic surged by 26 percent to 29.6 million in the first half of 2024 driven by the significant growth in international travel, according to the latest data from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).
Domestic travel continues to account for the bulk of traffic.
CAB data showed air passengers from January to June stood at 29.6 million, compared with 23.5 million passengers recorded in the same period last year, almost reaching the pre-pandemic level in 2019 with a total passenger volume of 30.5 million.
International passengers grew by 53 percent to 13.75 million from 8.96 million passengers last year, of which 6.48 million passengers flew via domestic carriers, while 7.28 million passengers flew via foreign carriers.
Domestic travel was up by 8 percent to 15.8 million in the first semester from 14.6 million a year ago, the CAB data showed.
Cebu Pacific (CEB) and its subsidiary CebGo still lead the domestic market with combined passengers of 8.14 million, driven by the airlines’ continuous aggressive expansion and promo offerings.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) and PAL Express flew a combined 4.68 million passengers.
Philippines AirAsia Inc. carried 2.6 million passengers in the first half of 2024.
Other carriers, namely, Sunlight Express Airways flew 66,321 passengers and AirSwift Transport Inc., 254,667 passengers, from January to June.
For international operations, PAL remained the leader flying a total of 2.94 million passengers during the first half of 2024, while CEB carried 2.74 million passengers and AirAsia, 698,949 passengers.
Passenger volume is expected to further increase with the anticipated improvement and expansion of the country’s main gateway, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), as the private concessionaire New NAIA Infrastructure Corp. (NNIC) is set to take over its operation next month.
Under the concessionaire agreement, NAIA’s passenger terminal capacity will increase from currently 35 million passengers a year to 62 million, and air traffic movement will improve from 40 per hour to 48 per hour.
During the first three months, NNIC will focus on the repair and improvement of NAIA’s escalators, elevators, walkalator, air conditioning and toilets, among others.
