SIA Group's passenger traffic up 10 times in April

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group reported an increase in passenger traffic by more than 10 times in April compared to a year ago.

This was on the back of a calibrated increase in passenger capacity over the past 12 months, said SIA Group on Monday (May 17). Its passenger capacity rose to around 24 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by April this year.

Airlines under the group ferried about 110,300 passengers in April, compared to 10,800 in the same period a year ago.

The group reported a passenger load factor of 13.7 per cent for the month, an increase from 4.6 percentage points year-on-year.

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"Despite growing optimism due to the increased pace of vaccinations around the world, border controls and travel restrictions remained largely in place following new waves of COVID-19 infections and the emergence of more virulent strains of the virus," said SIA Group. 

It noted that as of the end of April, Singapore Airlines covered 49 destinations.

This followed the re-introduction of Taipei services, as well as the transfer of Medan from SilkAir as part of the ongoing integration of narrow-body operations with SIA. 

SilkAir’s network was reduced to three destinations - Cebu, Kathmandu and Singapore. 

Scoot, SIA’s low-cost carrier subsidiary, served 19 destinations, including Singapore, with the reinstatement of flights to Macau. 

Operations to South Asia and Europe remain suspended.

SIA Cargo registered a monthly cargo load factor of 92.1 per cent in April, an increase of 16.5 percentage points year-on-year. Cargo traffic rose by 82.7 per cent on the back of a capacity expansion of 49.9 per cent. 

All route regions except West Asia and Africa recorded year-on-year increases in cargo load factor during the month.