Air passenger traffic in the Philippines climbed 11.33 percent year-on-year to 59.9 million in 2024, the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) said yesterday.
Passenger traffic in 2024 grew from 53.8 million in 2023, CAB said.
CAB data as of Feb. 21, 2025 showed the 2024 increase was fueled by an 11 percent rise in domestic passenger traffic and 12 percent growth in international air travel.
The CAB data indicated that total domestic passengers surpassed the pre-pandemic levels, reaching 32.1 million in 2024, up by 9 percent from 29.5 million in 2019.
International passenger traffic, however, remained 10 percent below the pre-pandemic level of 30.5 million in 2019. For 2024, international traffic stood at 27.8 million passengers.
Cebu Pacific Inc., the country’s largest budget carrier and its subsidiary Cebgo, led the sector with a combined passenger traffic of 23 million, up 58 percent from 14.6 million the preceding year.
The upsurge was driven by a significant rise in Cebu Pacific’s domestic travel, the CAB said.
Cebu Pacific recorded total passenger volume of 17.3 million domestic travelers and 5.7 million international travelers in 2024.
The airline achieved this growth through aggressive promotional offers and the expansion of its domestic and international network, the CAB said.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its subsidiary PAL Express registered a 39 percent increase in passenger traffic, with 15.3 million passengers in 2024, up from 11 million in 2023.
Similarly, another budget carrier, Philippine AirAsia, posted a 17 percent improvement, carrying 6.3 million passengers, up from 5.36 million in the prior year.
Other airlines also experienced growth, contributing to the overall increase in passenger traffic in the Philippines, the CAB said.
Royal Air Charter Service Inc. recorded 155,169 passengers in 2024, covering both domestic and international routes.
AirSwift Transport Inc., a subsidiary of Cebu Pacific, registered 430,996 domestic passengers last year.
Meanwhile, Sunlight Expressway Airports recorded 134,627 passengers in the domestic market.
