Asia-Pacific international air passengers fall 1% in June amid high jet fuel prices

International air passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific region fell 1.1% year over year to 30.46 million passengers in June 2026, extending a decline from May when volumes fell for the first time since March 2021, the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines said in a statement Aug. 5.

On a month-over-month basis, June's traffic figure also declined by 3.76%.

The drop "reflects capacity reductions and higher airfares following the escalation in fuel prices, even as travel approached the peak midyear season", IATA said.

Meanwhile, revenue passenger kilometers – a measure of demand – rose 1.1% year over year but fell 4.01% month over month in June. The annual increase in RPK, despite a drop in passengers, reflects persistent demand for longer-haul travel.

Similarly, passenger capacity in terms of available seat kilometers inched 0.3% higher year over year but shrank 4.67% month over month.

In the first half of 2026, Asia-Pacific airlines carried 192.49 million international passengers, up 3.2% from the same period last year.

"Passenger traffic moderated in June as higher airfares and capacity adjustments in some regional markets weighed on demand," AAPA Director General Wong Hong said.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed the FOB Singapore jet fuel/kerosene outright price at an average of $139.22/b in July, compared with $124.93/b in June and $151.73/b in May. Prior to the Middle East war this year, the benchmark averaged $89.03/b in February and $83.32/b in January.

The International Air Transport Association also said that the appetite for air travel within Asia weakened, curbed by higher jet fuel prices.

"Within Asia, passenger traffic contracted by 2.6% year over year in June, marking the first decline since the pandemic. This largely reflected airlines reducing short-haul services in response to higher fuel prices. Capacity on the corridor fell by 4.8% year over year and the PLF increased by 1.9 percentage points to 82.8%. Several major markets recorded traffic declines on intra-Asia routes during the month, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam," IATA said.

Asian airlines, including Korean Air, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, have implemented steep surcharges on fares amid elevated jet fuel prices.

Most recently, Taiwan's airlines will raise international flight fuel surcharges from Aug. 9, the country's Civil Aviation Administration said Aug. 3.

"Due to the recent rise in aviation fuel prices, the international airline passenger fuel surcharge will be increased starting from the 9th of this month," Taiwan's CAA said in the release, adding, "Short-haul routes will be raised to $30 and long-haul routes to $78."

On the air cargo front, demand slipped 5.39% month over month but grew 3.2% over year in June, AAPA data showed. Cargo demand in the first half of the year jumped 7% from 2025.

Looking ahead, "airlines continue to face challenging operating conditions, with persistent uncertainty surrounding the Middle East conflict contributing to fuel price volatility and continued pressure on operating costs. These headwinds, together with more moderate business confidence and heightened geopolitical and trade policy uncertainty, may temper growth in travel and air cargo markets in the coming months," Wong said.