Japan Airlines Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co. flew fewer passengers during the Golden Week break as the national holidays were split between two weeks.

JAL flew 1.44 million passengers domestically, down 2.5 percent compared with a year earlier, according to a statement on its Web site Wednesday. ANA had 1.46 million passengers, a 5.7 percent drop, according to an e-mailed statement.

The number of passengers fell this year as vacationers had to take more days off of work between holidays for an extended break. An increase in international fuel surcharges also hurt demand for overseas travel.

JAL flew 403,638 passengers internationally, down 6.2 percent from Golden Week last year. ANA had 116,176 passengers, a decline of 1.8 percent. The Golden Week period was from April 25 to Tuesday.