Domestic air travel recovers strongly in Philippines in H1

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Domestic air travel passengers jumped to nearly 10 million in the first semester with the resumption of about 90 percent of domestic flights, according to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB).

Domestic passenger traffic from January to June reached 9.69 million due to a spike in local travel in the second quarter.

The number of domestic flights taken in the first semester alone surpassed the 5.53-million recorded for the whole of 2021 and even the 6.89 million recorded for the entire 2020.

Broken down, domestic passenger volume nearly doubled to 6.43 million in the second quarter from 3.62 million in the first quarter. All local airlines back in operations also saw their numbers improve on a quarterly basis, signaling that air travel could be well on its way to recovery.

Budget carrier Cebu Pacific and its regional unit Cebgo accounted for around three in every five passengers who traveled within the country in the first semester. The Gokongwei-owned airlines served 5.71 million domestic guests during the period.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and its low-cost arm PAL Express flew 2.51 million passengers, followed by AirAsia Philippines with 1.39 million, AirSwift Transport Inc. with 81,429 and Island Aviation Corp. with 4,323.

On the other hand, international passenger traffic hit 3.49 million in the first semester, surpassing yet again the 2.2 million total for the whole of last year.

By segment, foreign airlines serviced 65 percent of the total at 2.28 million, while their Philippine counterparts flew the remaining 35 percent at 1.21 million.

According to CAB, at least 32 percent, or 1.12 million, of the international passengers flew using PAL's services. Cebu Pacific landed a far second with 84,700, ahead of AirAsia Philippines with 10,340 and Astro Air International with 119.

As of July, Cebu Pacific reactivated 88 percent of its pre-pandemic capacity, while PAL restored 85 percent of its own. Both of the airlines, as well as AirAsia Philippines, can only scale up to full operations once border restrictions on travel and tourism are lifted, especially in China.