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Australia’s international air travellers declined for a second straight month in May
August 31st 2026
There were 3.30 million international airline passengers flying into and out of Australia in May, down about 47,000 from the 3.35 million in the same month in 2025. Read More » It was the second consecutive month of a year-on-year decline in Australia’s international air travellers, following the 0.8% fall in April. The monthly report from Australia’s Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) said Qantas Group’s Qantas Airways led the market with a 17.8% share of all passengers, up 1.1 percentage points from 16.7% a year earlier. The other Qantas Group airline, Jetstar Airways, also grew its market share in May to 15.7%, from 13.9% in the same month in 2025. Singapore Airlines (SIA) was Australia’s largest foreign carrier in the 31 days at 9.5%, followed by Air New Zealand (6.6%) and Cathay Pacific Airways (4.8%). Close to one in four passengers, or 22.5%, flying into and out of Australia in February did so on an LCC, the BITRE report said, up from 21% in the same month in 2025 and 20.1% in May 2024. Total seats into and out of Australia fell 0.9% to 4.26 million in May. SIA topped the table for international freight for the month with a 15.8% market share, ahead of Qantas (10.6%) and Cathay Pacific (8.1%).
