Members of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) have experienced international passenger growth of 8.2 per cent in September.

Measured using revenue passenger kilometre, demand is said to be up 6.3 per cent for the month, ahead of the 5.2 per cent rise in seat capacity.

A total of 163.5 million passengers were reported across the first nine months of the year - compared to 155 million recorded during the same period in 2012 - resulting in an increase of 5.5 per cent.

However, while footfall may be up, AAPA members documented a decline of 2.1 per cent in cargo freight tonne kilometres compared to September 2012, which the organisation suggests is a sign of continued shortfalls in the market over the last two and a half years.

Director general of AAPA Andrew Herdman said: "[While] the continued steady growth in passenger demand is very encouraging, Asian airlines are still facing a challenging operating environment, marked by competitive pressures on yields and margins."