Domestic air passenger traffic in Japan jumped 10.3% in May 2017, which is close to a five-year high.

According to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the monthly traffic growth far exceeded a 2.6% expansion of seat capacity, allowing Japan’s domestic load factor – or the percentage of seats filled per flight – to increase almost five percentage points. Overall however, Japan’s average load factor remains lower than average at 69.1%.

The Japanese traffic growth reflects a “robust economic backdrop”, according to IATA, with Japanese GDP now having increased for five consecutive quarters – the longest run in more than a decade.

Japan’s year-on-year growth of 10.3% in May is higher than the average global increase in air passenger traffic, of 7.7%. It remains slower than in China however, which recorded a 16.8% jump in domestic traffic during the month and an average load factor of 83.9%.