Cebu Pacific (CEB) flew nearly 14.5 million passengers in the first half of the year, as strong demand for domestic travel drove growth despite softer international traffic.

In a report on Wednesday, the Gokongwei-backed budget airline said passenger traffic from January to June rose 4.3 percent to 14.5 million from 13.9 million a year earlier.

Domestic passengers notably increased 4.9 percent to 10.9 million, while international passengers only grew 2.4 percent to 3.6 million.

To meet demand, the airline expanded seat capacity by 9.7 percent to 17.9 million seats during the six-month period.

Average seat load factor, which measures the percentage of seats filled, stood at 81.2 percent.

In June alone, CEB carried 2.3 million passengers, up 2.5 percent from a year ago, reversing the declines recorded in previous months. Seat capacity grew 7.2 percent, while overall seat load factor eased to 83.6 percent from 87.5 percent in June 2025.

Domestic operations continued to underpin growth, with passenger traffic rising 6.2 percent on the back of a 17.7 percent increase in seat capacity. Domestic seat load factor reached 83.1 percent.

International passenger traffic, however, declined 8.6 percent in June as the airline cut international seat capacity by 18.5 percent following earlier network adjustments. The reduced capacity pushed international seat load factor up by 9.3 percentage points to 85.4 percent.

“June marked a return to year-on-year passenger growth, driven by the continued strength of our domestic network even as we entered the traditional lean travel season.

While international volumes remained below last year, this largely reflected previous capacity adjustments," CEB President and Chief Commercial Officer Xander Lao said.

"With fuel prices having eased significantly and consumer sentiment improving, our market position continues to strengthen, and we expect a further recovery in operating performance through the second half of the year,” he added.

CEB currently serves 36 domestic and 24 international destinations using a fleet of 102 aircraft.