Air Travel in Asia Pacific Grows Despite Headwinds

‍KUALA LUMPUR — The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) has announced that international passenger and cargo markets continued to grow in April 2025 despite economic uncertainty and trade tensions worldwide.

Asia Pacific carriers transported 31.3 million international passengers in April, marking a 10.5% increase compared to the same month last year. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) rose by 12.6%, while seat capacity expanded by 11.7%, lifting the average load factor to 82.4%.

Cargo traffic also showed resilience. Despite headwinds in global manufacturing and ongoing tariff disputes, freight tonne kilometers (FTK) rose by 4.9%, slightly ahead of the 4.2% growth in capacity. This nudged the freight load factor up to 61.5%.

AAPA Director General Subhas Menon noted that airlines carried 127 million international passengers in the first four months of 2025—a 12% year-on-year increase. Cargo volumes grew 5% over the same period.

However, Menon warned of potential turbulence ahead: “Trade disputes and softening macroeconomic conditions may pose challenges, putting pressure on already thin airline profit margins.” Still, he emphasized that Asia Pacific carriers remain vigilant and prepared to adapt swiftly to shifting market conditions.

AAPA Carriers

The association currently has 18 member airlines from the Asia-Pacific region: Air Astana (KC, unaffiliated), Air India (AI, Star Alliance), Air New Zealand (NZ, Star Alliance), All Nippon Airways (NH, Star Alliance), Bangkok Airways (PG, unaffiliated), Cathay Pacific (CX, oneworld), China Airlines (CI, SkyTeam), EVA Airways (BR, Star Alliance), Garuda Indonesia (GA, SkyTeam), Japan Airlines (JL, oneworld), Lion Air (JT, unaffiliated), Malaysia Airlines (MH, oneworld), Philippine Airlines (PR, unaffiliated), Qantas (QF, oneworld), Royal Brunei Airlines (BI, unaffiliated), Singapore Airlines (SQ, Star Alliance), Thai Airways International (TG, Star Alliance), and Vietnam Airlines (VN, SkyTeam).

These carriers collectively carry 285 million passengers and 10 million tonnes of cargo, representing approximately one-fifth of global air passenger traffic and one-third of global air cargo traffic respectively.