Airports Council International reports flourishing March international passenger traffic – 02/05/07

INTERNATIONAL. International passenger traffic rose by +10.9% year-on-year in March, according to figures just published by Airports Council International (ACI).

A more modest +4.1% lift in domestic traffic resulted in a +6.8% increase in total passenger numbers for the month.

Passenger growth is booming in the Middle East (up +19.7% in March and +16.2% for the first quarter), reflecting the impact of airlines which have increased fleets (such as Emirates and Qatar Airways); a large number of events in the area; new airlines operating in the region and the adoption of the new ‘Open Skies’ policy by Kuwait. Strong double-digit growth in international passenger numbers was also recorded by Africa (+19.0% in March and +11.5% in Q1), Asia Pacific (+11.6% and +9.1%) and Europe (+10.8% and +8.3%).

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The trend for strong international traffic growth has persisted over the past twelve months, as seen in the quarterly comparisons (above). For the first quarter of 2007, global passenger growth of +5.7% was driven by international traffic (up +8.5%) while domestic traffic rose by +3.8% compared to the first quarter of 2006.

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AFR = Africa
ASP = Asia Pacific
EUR = Europe
LAC = Latin America & Caribbean
MEA = Middle East
NAM = North America
ACI = ACI Worldwide

Definitions Passenger Traffic