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
There were 5.76 million passengers carried on Australian domestic commercial aviation (including charter operations) in July 2026. There is virtually no change compared with July 2025. This is also an increase of 1.0% on pre-COVID July 2019 passenger numbers (5.70 million).
5.33 million passengers were carried on Regular Public Transport (RPT) flights in July 2026 (excluding charter operations), a decrease of 0.3% compared to July 2025.
For the month of July 2026, there were 52.1 thousand RPT aircraft trips, a decrease of 1.4% on July 2025.
For the year ending July 2026, there were 60.73 million RPT passengers, an increase of 1.8% on the year ending July 2025.
RPT revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) performed were 6.58 billion for the month, compared with 6.61 billion in July 2025 (down 0.5%).
Capacity, measured by available seat kilometres (ASKs), decreased to 7.90 billion in July 2026 compared to 7.92 billion in July 2025 (down 0.2%).
The industry wide load factor (RPKs/ASKs) decreased from 83.4% in July 2025 to 83.2% in July 2026.
Total cargo movements at Australian airports on domestic RPT flights were 26.7 thousand tonnes in July 2026, a decrease of 5.9% compared with July 2025.
In July 2026, there were 2.35 million domestic passenger movements through regional airports. There was virtually no change compared to July 2025.
Fixed-wing charter operators carried 432.2 thousand passengers in July 2026, an increase of 4.9% compared with July 2025.
Summary of annual RPT activity
| YE July 2025 | YE July 2026 | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total passengers carried (millions) | 59.66 | 60.73 | 1.8 |
| Revenue passenger kilometres (billions) | 71.94 | 73.23 | 1.8 |
| Available seats (millions) | 73.38 | 75.23 | 2.5 |
| Available seat kilometres (billions) | 86.56 | 89.06 | 2.9 |
| Load factor % | 83.1 | 83.2 | 0.1* |
| Aircraft trips (000s) | 599.8 | 602.1 | 0.4 |
* percentage point difference
Domestic aviation activity—cities and regions
Below is a summary analysis of data from Regular Public Transport Domestic Aviation Activity in Australia by route type. The data file is available further down this page.
Summary—2025-26
Flights by route type
Flights on Regional and Remote routes combined dropped from 329,593 in 2024-25 to 325,063 in 2025-26 – a decrease of 1.4 per cent. Over the same period, flights between airports located in Major Cities increased from 248,206 to 255,570 - an increase of 3.0 per cent.
Passengers (millions) by route type
Passengers on Regional and Remote routes combined increased from 23.6 million in 2024-25 to 24.1 million in 2025-26 - an increase of 2.2 per cent. Over the same period, passengers carried between airports located in Major Cities increased from 35.8 million to 36.6 million - an increase of 2.2 per cent.
Load factors (RPKs/ASKs as a percentage) by route type
Load factor on Regional and Remote routes combined decrease from 79.1 per cent in 2024-25 to 78.7 per cent in 2025-26. Over the same period, the load factor on flights between Major cities decreased from 85.5 per cent to 84.6 per cent.
Airport traffic data
The files below contain monthly and annual details of passenger and aircraft movement data on scheduled regular public transport services at selected Australian airports.
Australian domestic aviation activity—monthly publications
This report covers monthly domestic aircraft (including charter) and passenger movements, available seats, load factors, revenue passenger kilometres and available seat kilometres. Details are provided for the top competitive routes, the top 10 domestic airports in terms of RPT passenger movements, top 5 airports in terms of cargo movements and the top 50 regional airports. Also included are details on charter passengers and aircraft flights where BITRE confidentiality standards are met.
Related information
Australian domestic aviation activity—annual publications
This report summarises annual domestic (including regional) aircraft and passenger movements, available seats, load factors, revenue passenger kilometres and available seat kilometres. Details are provided for the top competitive routes and the major airports. Estimates of charter passengers and charter aircraft flights are included in this publication where BITRE confidentiality standards are met.
Related information
Australian domestic aviation activity—time series
These files contain domestic aviation time series. The data cover aircraft and passenger movements, available seats, load factors, hours and km flown, revenue passenger km, available seat km, cargo carried by domestic airlines and details for the top competitive routes.