INTERNATIONAL. Passenger traffic at the world’s airports climbed by +2.8% year-on-year in September, Airports Council International (ACI) has reported. The slowing growth rate is “a result of contractions in the domestic passenger markets of Europe and North America,” said ACI. Growth in international passenger traffic worldwide (+4.7%) outperformed domestic markets (+1.2%) in the month.
With weak economic performance and continued uncertainty threatening the two regions, Europe and North America saw declines of -3.8% and -1% respectively in domestic passenger traffic, ACI noted. Major airports in the two regions such as Madrid, Dallas and Las Vegas saw declines of -9.5%, -3.9% and -3% respectively.
On the other hand, major airports in emerging markets continue to counterbalance the slowdown from other regions with sustained demand.
Istanbul, Dubai, Jakarta and Beijing posted growth of +19.7%, +12.8%, +6.5% and +4.1% respectively.
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Global freight traffic posted modest year-over-year growth for the month of September at +1.6%.
In the first nine months, total passenger traffic rose at +4.5% compared to the same period in 2011. International traffic was up by +5.6% with domestic traffic at 3.5%.
ACI World’s Economics Director Rafael Echevarne said: “On the whole, when we look at the last three quarters of 2012, passenger markets have remained relatively healthy despite the risks and slowdown in the global economy. From January to September, overall year-over-year growth for the period was a reassuring +4.5%. Conversely, freight traffic continues to give a mixed picture from month to month. With an overall deterioration in international trade in 2012, it no surprise to see freight traffic in a sluggish state, declining by -0.7% for the same period.”
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