AirAsia Philippines said Wednesday the volume of passengers it flew in the second quarter increased 489 percent from a year ago, despite the travel restrictions amid the COVD-19 pandemic.
The budget airline said the number of passenger it carried from April to June reached 171,543, up from only 29,111 passengers in the same period last year.
AirAsia Philippines said the figure also represented a 2-percent increase from the first quarter.
Load factor rose 23 percentage points to 78 percent in the second quarter from 55 percent in the same period last year.
“AirAsia remains committed to strengthening its domestic foothold while awaiting positive developments on international air travel” the budget airline said.
“Expectation of high vaccination rates in ASEAN countries by the end of this year is lending confidence on upcoming recovery, enhanced by the Group’s robust short-haul model in addition to leaner and more stabilized operations,” AirAsia said.
AirAsia Philippines earlier said it would revive its Clark hub by the fourth quarter or once the government further eases the travel restrictions.
AirAsia began its Philippines operations in Clark in March 2012, making it one of the carriers actively boosting connectivity, mobility in various local economies in North and Central Luzon.
Before the pandemic, AirAsia Philippines flew to 10 domestic and three international destinations from Clark including Cagayan de Oro City, Caticlan, Cebu City, Davao City, Iloilo City, Puerto Princesa City, Tacloban City, Incheon, Kaohsiung and Taipei.