Robust passenger traffic gains of 5.1% in October; accelerated growth of 6.6% in air freight volumes
| Montreal, 15 December 2016 – With the slowdown of holiday travel and tourism in October, global passenger traffic at the world’s major airports rose 5.1% year-over-year while international and domestic traffic grew 6.1% and 4.4% respectively. These figures are below the twelve-month average trends of 5.7%, 6.3% and 5.3%.
With the exception of Africa, which experienced a drop of 4.3%, all regions posted gains in passenger traffic. Ongoing security concerns in northern African States have left the region’s air transport demand in a weakened state. Asia Pacific airports reported the greatest increase in passenger traffic with gains of 8.4%. Guangzhou (CAN), Incheon (ICN), New Delhi (DEL) and Kuala Lumpur (KUL), four of the region’s major hubs, grew 11.8%, 12.6%, 19.2% and 14.6% respectively. Robust growth of 5.8% in passenger traffic was achieved across airports in the European region. Amsterdam (AMS) and Barcelona (BCN) grew 8.7% and 10.9% respectively. For a second consecutive month, air freight markets demonstrated strong gains. After witnessing a 5.7% growth rate for the month of September, freight volume increased 6.6% in October, far above the 2.1% twelve-month growth average. The impressive 9.9% growth rate in international freight was accompanied by a 0.5% decline in domestic air freight volumes. All regions witnessed gains: the Middle East and Asia Pacific markets recorded the strongest growth at 11.5% and 10.2% respectively. The release of new key electronic products in October—mainly mobile devices—contributed to the surge of air freight traffic. Dubai (DXB) and Doha (DOH), the two main hubs in the Middle East, observed an increased growth rate of 9.5% and 21.5% respectively. Similarly, Shanghai (PVG), Incheon (ICN), Tokyo (NRT) and Taipei (TPE), four of the top 5 airports with respect to freight traffic in Asia-Pacific, witnessed double digit growth of 11.3%, 10.6%, 10.9% and 13.6% respectively. |
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| Notes for editors | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association of the world’s airports, was founded in 1991 with the objective of fostering cooperation among its member airports and other partners in world aviation, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization. In representing the best interests of airports during key phases of policy development, ACI makes a significant contribution toward ensuring a global air transport system that is safe, secure, efficient and environmentally sustainable.
2. PaxFlash and FreightFlash statistics are based on a significant sample of airports that provide regular monthly reports to ACI. They represent approximately 60% of total passenger traffic and 70% of total freight traffic worldwide. Commentary, tables and charts are based on preliminary data submitted by participating airports and are therefore subject to change. 3. Regional results and trend graphics are provided on the following pages. 4. Download the PDF version of this Media Release. |
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| Media contact | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sabrina Guerrieri Manager, Communications ACI World Telephone: +1 514 373 1223 Email: sguerrieri@aci.aero |
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| Charts and tables
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