The impact of the Japanese earthquake on air travel in the region has been revealed by preliminary March traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).
Demand growth moderated for passenger travel, partly as a result of the effects of the Japanese earthquake on travel patterns and trade within the region.
In aggregate, Asia Pacific based carriers carried 15.5 million international passengers in March, a 1.0% decline compared to the same month last year.
Passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometre terms (RPK) fell by 0.8%, whereas available seat capacity increased by 6.3%, resulting in a 5.4 percentage point drop in the average international passenger load factor to 74.8%.
Andrew Herdman, AAPA director general said, “Japan generally accounts for about a fifth of overall traffic within the Asia Pacific region, and we saw sharp falls in demand for travel to, from and within Japan in the weeks following the earthquake.
“Demand for business travel has been less affected. Consumer confidence is still fragile but there are some tentative signs of a recovery in demand for leisure travel, and a number of trade campaigns being launched to promote travel and tourism both to and from Japan.â€
