Airports in Asia Pacific mark 3.5 per cent increase in passenger traffic
ETW Staff– Mumbai
As per data compiled by Airports Council International (ACI), passenger traffic for the month of July 2014 maintained a steady growth rate with airports in Asia Pacific recording a year-on-year increase of plus 3.5 per cent, while airports in the Middle East posted an increase of plus five per cent. For year-to-date passenger traffic from January to July 2014, the Middle East has enjoyed a strong increase of plus 8.4 per cent, while Asia Pacific posted an increase of plus 4.2 per cent.
From January to July 2014, the top five busiest airports in the two regions were Beijing (PEK, plus 1.6 per cent), Tokyo Haneda (HND, plus 5.6 per cent), Dubai (DXB, plus 4.9 per cent), Hong Kong (HKG, plus 6.1 per cent) and Jakarta (CGK, minus 5.2 per cent). Tokyo Haneda’s growth was partially attributed to the strong increase in international passenger traffic (plus 21.7 per cent), whereas Jakarta was impacted by a slowdown of domestic passenger traffic (minus 6.4 per cent).
The Middle Eastern airports continued to demonstrate sturdy growth for the year to date, with Abu Dhabi (AUH, plus 19.7 per cent) and Doha (DOH, plus 14 per cent) posting double-digit growth. Other airports reporting growth rates in excess of 15 per cent include: Bangkok Don Muang (DMK, plus 21.5 per cent), Kaohsiung (KHH, plus 20.5 per cent), Chiang Mai (CNX, plus19.4 per cent) and Goa (GOI, plus 17.4 per cent).
Freight volumes continue to show signs of strong recovery with improvements in global trade and commerce. Cargo traffic recorded robust growth for the month of July 2014. Asia Pacific airports recorded a year-on-year growth of plus 6.8 per cent while the Middle East recorded growth of plus 12 per cent. Year-to-date growth was plus 5.1 per cent for Asia Pacific and plus 9.6 plus for the Middle East. The strong growth in the Middle East was primarily driven by the recent expanded operations at Doha and Dubai World Central.
The top five airports in the two regions with the highest cargo throughput from January to July 2014 are Hong Kong (HKG, plus 6.7 per cent), Shanghai Pudong (PVG, plus 8.3 per cent), Seoul Incheon (ICN, plus 3.9 per cent), Dubai (DXB, minus 3.1 per cent) and Tokyo Narita (NRT, plus nine per cent).
