Preliminary traffic figures for the month of June released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed continued expansion of both air freight and international passenger markets.

 For the region’s carriers, demand for air freighted goods continued to grow in the month of June, helped by positive consumer and business sentiment in major developed economies. Overall, air freight demand in freight tonne kilometre (FTK) terms grew by an encouraging 4.7 per cent compared to the same month last year. The average international freight load factor rose for the second consecutive month, by 0.8 percentage points to 66.1 per cent in June, on a 3.4 per cent growth in offered freight capacity.

Asia Pacific airlines carried a combined total of 20.6 million international passengers in June, 2.1 per cent more than the same month last year. Compared to previous months, traffic growth in June was relatively slower, with leisure travel markets partly affected by the on-going political situation in Thailand. 

Commenting on the results, Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general said: “The overall traffic demand environment in the region is still expected to be positive, supported by continued growth in regional economies and further improvement in the US and European economies. However, competitive pressures remain intense, forcing Asian airlines to keep a close watch on costs while carefully managing capacity.”