Singapore Airlines (SGX:C6L) said passenger traffic rose 9.1% year on year in January, driven by Lunar New Year travel, with 3.5 million passengers carried across its network, according to a Monday filing on the Singapore Exchange.

Group passenger traffic increased 8.6%, outpacing a 5.5% rise in capacity, pushing the passenger load factor (PLF) up 2.5 percentage points to 87.8%, the airline said in a statement.

Flagship carrier Singapore Airlines saw a PLF of 87.2%, while low-cost unit Scoot reported 90.3%.

Cargo volumes grew 2.6%, lagging a 9.5% capacity increase as holiday stocking eased and factory closures curbed demand, resulting in a cargo load factor decline of 3.4 points to 51.1%.

Scoot launched services to Padang, Indonesia, and Shantou, China, during the month.

By the end of January, the group's passenger network covered 131 destinations in 36 countries, while its cargo network spanned 135 destinations across 37 countries.