KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 1): Malaysia’s air passenger traffic rose 12.1% in June 2024 from a year earlier, and increased 2.3% from May, driven by domestic travel during the public holiday period. 

Air passenger traffic in June totalled 8.1 million people, according to the Malaysian Aviation Commission’s (Mavcom) latest statement. Domestic flights rose 4.2% month-on-month to 4.1 million in June, compared with 3.9 million in May. 

Traffic in June was evenly split between domestic and international flights, each accounting for 50% of the total, said Mavcom. Overall, air passenger traffic in June reached 86.5% of pre-pandemic levels in June 2019 at 9.4 million. 

Air cargo traffic in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q2024) rose 5.5% to 241,895 metric tons from 229,195 metric tons in 2Q2023 propelled by a surge in international cargo movements, thanks to disruptions in the Red Sea, which led businesses to opt for air cargo for faster and reliable deliveries. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, air cargo movement in 2Q2024 advanced 6.4% from 227,365 metric tons in 1Q2024.

Overall, 2Q2024 air cargo movement stood at 102.9% of pre-pandemic levels, with domestic cargo movement at 119.8% and international cargo movement at 98.5% of pre-pandemic levels.

“We are encouraged by the steady recovery and growth in both passenger and cargo traffic,” said Mavcom executive chairman Datuk Seri Saripuddin Kasim.

“The increase in international routes and flight frequencies signals a positive trend towards the global normalisation of air travel,” he added. 

In the first half of 2024 (1H2024), total air passenger traffic grew 15.3% to 46.6 million from 40.4 million in the same period a year ago. International air passenger traffic climbed 35.9% to 24 million from 17.6 million in 1H2023, while domestic passenger traffic slipped 0.7% to 22.6 million from 22.8 million. 

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