Southeast Asia’s air travel market continues its upward trajectory with a 6.2% year-on-year increase in total seat capacity for May 2025, reaching 39.8 million seats, according to the latest data from OAG.
Singapore Changi Airport remains the largest and busiest airport in the region, handling 3.6 million seats—a 5.2% rise compared to May 2024.
Close behind Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta, and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi airports each reported over 3 million seats, underscoring their status as key regional hubs. Vietnamese airports are making notable gains, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City registering the highest growth rates among the Top 10, increasing seat capacity by 15.8% and 13.9%, respectively.
Conversely, some Indonesian airports saw capacity contractions, with Makassar down 5.2% and Jakarta reducing by 4.9% from May 2024 levels.
Vietnam is the standout market this month, recording the largest volume growth in seat capacity across the region. The country added 971,700 seats compared to May 2024, marking an 18.4% increase. Timor-Leste, while one of the region’s smallest markets, experienced the fastest growth rate at 25.3% year-on-year.
International travel continues to rebound strongly, growing by 7.2%, outpacing domestic capacity’s 5.4% increase. Despite this, domestic travel still holds the majority with 57% of total capacity.
Indonesia maintains its position as the largest overall and domestic market in Southeast Asia, with 10.7 million total seats and 8.6 million domestic seats.
Vietnam follows as the second-largest domestic market, registering 3.9 million seats and the highest year-on-year volume increase of 564,900 additional seats. Malaysia and the Philippines also posted strong domestic growth of 490,000 and 471,800 seats, respectively.
While the broader region grows, Myanmar and Cambodia saw significant declines in capacity, down 24.1% and 26.4%, respectively, reflecting uneven recovery patterns across the region.
The sustained growth in both international and domestic air travel across Southeast Asia signals strong regional demand and recovery momentum. With markets like Vietnam and Timor-Leste accelerating, and regional hubs continuing to expand capacity, Southeast Asia’s aviation sector remains one of the most dynamic in the global travel landscape.
