SWITZERLAND. Detailed figures just out for 750 airports from Airports Council International (ACI) show traffic raced ahead +9% year on year in January, before falling back. In a statement this week, ACI said the apparent recovery however was quickly dampened by the war in Iraq. SARS and the continuing weakness of the global economy also make it unlikely that later statistics for 2003 will show passenger traffic and flight movements up, even as high as January 2001 levels.
Helped by strong traffic over the holiday period, double-digit passenger growth rates were registered for January 2003 in Africa (+17%), Asia Pacific (+14%), the Middle East (+12%) and Europe (+11%). Passenger traffic was also up in North America (+6%), but dropped in Latin America/Caribbean (-2%). Three major airports registered growth rates of more than +20%: Tokyo Narita (+27%), New York JFK (+22%) and Beijing (+22%) before the subsequent collapse in Asian traffic.
Aircraft movements in January were also up in the Middle East (+12%), Asia Pacific (+11%), Africa (+6%) and Europe (+4%). They were flat in North America and contracted in Latin America/Caribbean (-4%).
