International airline activity
Summary
Sixty-one international airlines operated scheduled services to/from Australia during the month (includes 3 dedicated freight airlines but excludes airlines operating only via codeshare arrangements).
International scheduled passenger traffic in May 2026 was 3.302 million compared with 3.348 million in May 2025, representing a decrease of 1.4%. This is the second consecutive monthly year-on-year decline, following the decrease recorded in April 2026. Prior to these recent declines, the last monthly year-on-year decrease occurred in October 2021 (COVID).
Passenger traffic for the year ended May 2026 was 45.690 million which is a 6.6% increase over the figure for the year ended May 2025 (42.849 million).
Total seats made available on international scheduled operations to/from Australia during May 2026 were 4.259 million – a decrease of 0.9% compared with May 2025. Overall seat utilisation was 79.6% in May 2026. It was 79.9% in May 2025 and 76.7% in May 2024.
Summary of year-on-year activity
| Year ended May 2025 | Year ended May 2026 | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total passenger movements (million) | 42.849 | 45.690 | 6.6 |
Summary of month-on-month activity
| May 2025 | May 2026 | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passengers carried (million) | 3.348 | 3.302 | -1.4 |
| Freight (tonnes) | 90470 | 92883 | 2.7 |
| Mail (tonnes) | 2164 | 2096 | -3.1 |
| Available seats (million) | 4.296 | 4.259 | -0.9 |
| Flights | 16898 | 16999 | 0.6 |
| Aircraft movements | 17 324 | 173 31 | 0.0 |
International airline activity—annual publications
These reports summarise annual (calendar or financial year) international aircraft, passenger, freight and mail movements, flights, available seats, seat load factors and airline market shares. Details are provided for airline, country, city pair and airport.
Related information
International Airlines Operated Flights and Seats
These files contain international time series data covering operated flights and seats by airport, city pair, airline, route, country and region.
International airline activity—monthly publications
Monthly statistics on international aircraft, passenger, freight and mail movements, flights, available seats, seat load factors and airline market shares. Details are provided for airline, country, city pair and airport.
Related information
International airline activity—time series data
These files contain international time series data covering passenger, freight and mail movements, flights, available seats and seat load factors. Details are provided for airline, country and city pair.
Related information
- International airline activity—summary
- International airline activity—monthly publications
- International airline activity—annual publications