The Civil Aeronautics Board said over the weekend domestic air passenger traffic in 2022 returned to 76 percent of the 2019 levels, a strong rebound from 2020 and 2021 amid the easing of travel restrictions.
Data from the CAB showed that domestic passenger volume reached 22.50 million last year, up from 5.53 million domestic passengers in 2021. In 2019, domestic passengers totaled 29.53 million.
The Philippines lifted most travel restrictions in the first quarter of 2022 to help in the economic recovery from the pandemic.
Cebu Pacific remained the country’s leading domestic airline with 11.39 million passengers flown last year, higher than 2.68 million in 2021.
The budget airline of the Gokongwei Group returned to 87 percent of its 2019 levels.
It was followed by PAL Express with 3.84 million domestic passengers, Philippines AirAsia with 3.63 million and Philippine Airlines with 2 million.
Cebgo, a unit of Cebu Pacific, carried 1.36 million domestic passengers, while AirSwift Transport Inc. flew 212,059.
International passenger traffic returned to only 32 percent of the 2019 levels. International passenger volume reached 9.83 million last year, higher by 348 percent than 2.19 million in 2021.
Data showed that of the total, domestic airlines carried 3.99 million international passengers, while foreign carriers flew 5.83 million international passengers.
PAL carried the most number of international passengers last year with 3.34 million, followed by Cebu Pacific with 435,841 passengers; Philippines AirAsia, 198,093; Royal Air Charter Service, 11,385; and Astro Air International, 119 passengers.
Meanwhile, domestic cargo traffic reached 195.18 million kilograms last year, higher than 165.58 million kilos in 2021. International cargo traffic totaled 418.32 million kilos, up by 104.8 percent from 204.19 million in 2021.