Number of passengers carried via domestic air transport in Japan 2014-2023

In 2023, the number of passengers carried via domestic air transportation in Japan increased to around 103.97 million. The figures include all scheduled ‘trunk route’ and ‘local route’ flights by domestic air carriers approved by the government. Due to cabotage restrictions, these figures represent the overwhelming majority of Japan‘s domestic air traffic.

The protection of ‘trunk routes’ and ‘local routes’

Apart from 'international routes' and 'domestic routes', Japan has ‘trunk routes’ and ‘local routes’ for domestic operations. ‘Trunk routes’ exclusively designate high traffic airline routes between New Chitose, Haneda, Narita, Osaka, Kansai, Fukuoka, and Naha.
Usually, international agreements cover international carriers and routes. However, national law protects domestic lines from foreign operators (cabotage) more often than not. Although Japan is no exception, there are a few cases that permit a foreign airline to service domestic routes. A codeshare agreement may allow several airlines to market seats for the same flight, which in the end will be administered by one of those carriers. Codeshare is a strategy of airline alliances to increase the passenger load.

The rivalry between JAL and ANA

The domestic aviation market is dominated by two industry players: Oneworld member Japan Airlines (JAL) and Star Alliance member All Nippon Airways (ANA). They account for the majority of traffic and revenue on the domestic market with their respective subsidiaries and hold notable amounts of shares of smaller domestic competitors. Despite JAL being Japan’s flag carrier, ANA generated higher passenger revenue.