FLAG carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its budget arm Scoot flew close to 2.7 million passengers in April 2023, an 85.5 per cent increase from the same month a year ago, when borders in Singapore were fully reopened for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

This compares with a 205 per cent jump in passenger numbers to 2.7 million in March; and for February, the surge was 338 per cent to 2.4 million.

Nonetheless, SIA Group : C6L 0% said in its operating results for April that passenger traffic and load factors were strong across all route regions, adding that this was supported by the robust leisure demand during the Easter holiday in the first week of the month.

Its East Asia segment continued to see healthy growth in demand for flights to China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, the group added.

Group passenger capacity in April was up 36.7 per cent year on year. Group passenger load factor was 88.3 per cent, representing a year-on-year increase of 15.6 percentage points.

Cargo loads fell 11.2 per cent year on year however, due to weaker demand, while capacity expanded by 16.8 per cent as increased passenger services resulted in higher bellyhold capacity.

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The group noted that its passenger network covered 112 destinations in 36 countries and territories by the end of the month.

SIA served 74 destinations, while Scoot flew to 61, among which three – Haikou, Ningbo and Xi’an – were newly resumed.

SIA’s cargo network comprised 118 destinations in 38 countries and territories.

The carrier’s shares closed flat at S$5.90 on Monday (May 15).