SIA and Scoot fly record number of passengers in March with spillover from Middle East conflict
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SIA Group said the strong growth in passenger traffic was bolstered by an increase in demand for air travel ahead of Easter.
PHOTO: ST FILE
- SIA Group, including SIA and Scoot, carried a record 3.8 million passengers in March, a 14.9% increase year-on-year.
- Passenger numbers increased due to higher travel demand before Easter and passengers bypassing Middle Eastern air hubs due to the Iran conflict.
- SIA's passenger load factor reached 90.3%, while Scoot's was 91.7%.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot carried a total of 3.8 million passengers in March – the highest recorded in a month by SIA Group, which partly attributed the higher numbers to spillover caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
In its operating results for March released on April 15, the group said this was a 14.9 per cent year-on-year increase, and brought the total number of passengers carried for the 2025/2026 financial year to 42.4 million, a record high.
In the previous financial year, it carried 39.4 million passengers, or 7.7 per cent fewer than in 2025/2026.
SIA Group said the strong growth in passenger traffic was bolstered by an increase in demand for air travel ahead of Easter.
Good Friday, which fell on April 3 and precedes Easter, was the first long weekend of the year for Singapore.
The group added that it had also absorbed Europe-bound passengers due to the volatile situation in the Middle East affecting air hubs in that region.
The transit hubs of Dubai and Doha, which facilitate travel between Asia and Europe, have faced severe disruptions amid the Iran war, prompting passengers to seek out Asian carriers instead.
According to industry estimates, almost a third of air traffic between Asia and Europe is handled by Gulf hubs, with one estimate by aviation analytics firm Cirium putting the total number of passengers affected by flight cancellations in the Middle East at more than six million.
Passenger load factor, or the number of passengers expressed as a percentage of passenger capacity, similarly showed increases.
SIA posted a new monthly record, with a passenger load factor of 90.3 per cent, up from 84.1 per cent in March 2025.
Scoot, on the other hand, had a passenger load factor of 91.7 per cent, up from 87.2 per cent in March 2025.
In total, the two airlines had a passenger load factor of 90.6 per cent.
