Asia’s airlines carried a combined total of 155 million international passengers in the first half of 2017, 5.5% more than the same period last year.

This is according to the latest data from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), which said that expanding route networks and cheaper airfares are helping to boost travel.

For June 2017 alone, traffic rose 4.4% to 25.2m passengers. But in terms of revenue passenger kilometre (RPK), traffic increased 8.1%, which reflects rising demand for long-haul travel. The region’s average passenger load factor was 79.4% in June.

“Air passenger traffic volumes have been growing steadily, underpinned by elevated business and consumer confidence levels,” said AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman. “International air passenger and cargo markets are well positioned to achieve further growth in the second half of the year, given signs of ongoing positive momentum in the global economy.

“Expanding airline networks and the widespread availability of competitive airfares will also help to drive further growth in travel demand. Meanwhile, Asian airlines remain vigilant on containing costs, with the aim of sustaining a positive earnings performance in a highly competitive market place,” he concluded.