Domestic aviation activity

Information and data on domestic aviation can be found at the following links.

• Australian domestic aviation activity—monthly publications
• Australian domestic aviation activity—time series
• Australian domestic aviation activity—annual publications

Below are graphs and summary analysis relating to domestic aviation activity.      

Summary

5.41 million passengers were carried on Australian domestic commercial aviation (including charter operations) in August 2026 compared with 5.42 million in August 2025 (down 0.1%). This is a decrease of 0.3% on pre-COVID August 2019 passenger numbers (5.43 million).

5.02 million passengers were carried on RPT flights in August 2026 (excluding charter operations), a decrease of 0.8% compared with August 2025.

In August 2026 there were 48.9 thousand RPT aircraft trips, a decrease of 3.6% on August 2025.

For the year ending August 2026 there were 60.69 million RPT passengers, an increase of 1.5% on the year ending August 2025.

RPT revenue passenger km (RPKs) performed were 6.11 billion for the month, compared with 6.13 billion in August 2025 (down 0.3%).

Capacity, measured by available seat km (ASKs) decreased to 7.23 billion in August 2026 compared with 7.45 billion in August 2025 (down 2.9%).

The industry-wide load factor (RPKs/ASKs) increased from 82.2% in August 2025 to 84.5% in August 2026.

Total cargo movements at Australian airports on domestic RPT flights were 25.5 thousand tonnes in August 2026, a decrease of 2.1% compared with August 2025. 

In August 2026, there were 2.20 million domestic passenger movements through regional airports, a decrease of 1.1% from August 2025.

Fixed-wing charter operators carried 392.7 thousand passengers in August 2026, an increase of 10.1% compared with August 2025. 

Summary of annual RPT activity

* percentage point difference