Moodie Davitt Passenger Traffic Monitor: October

28 October

ASIA PACIFIC. Preliminary September 2022 traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed international passenger demand sustained its strong upward momentum despite a worsening global economic outlook.

The organisation noted that significant easing of border restrictions across most of the region’s economies continued to unleash a robust return of business and leisure travellers.

In September, the number of international passengers carried by the region’s airlines surged to 11.7 million, from the 1.4 million registered in the same month last year. That equates to 39% of total international passengers recorded for Asia Pacific in pre-pandemic September 2019.

AAPA Director General Subhas Menon said: “Asian airlines are seeing encouraging recovery in international travel demand and achieving load factors close to pre-pandemic levels. Overall, the number of international passengers carried grew by +448.7% during the first nine months of the year, compared with the same period in 2021. The resilience of the industry is shining through.”

23 October

CHINA (HONG KONG). Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) has announced a much-improved passenger performance for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) in September 2022. During the month passengers served at HKIA reached 525,000, marking a year-on-year increase of +132.7%, albeit against a low base.

Following the Hong Kong Government’s recent announcement of adjustments to quarantine arrangements, AAHK said it has been working closely with the airport community to prepare for air traffic recovery.

AAHK Executive Director, Airport Operations Vivian Cheung said: “We are maintaining close communications with our business partners to ensure that we are ready to handle the expected increase in passenger flow.

“AAHK spared no effort to ensure health and safety at HKIA, adopting biometrics in the touchless boarding process and introducing cleaning robots, among other measures. Passengers can also anticipate a new and enhanced airport experience brought by upgrades to our terminal facilities.

“We remain very confident in the airport’s long-term development and traffic growth.”

SWEDEN. Swedavia’s ten airports served 2.8 million passengers in September, 77% of the number achieved in the same month of pre-pandemic 2019. This is the closest result to 2019 volumes since the outbreak of COVID-19 and is the fourth consecutive month where total passengers approached 3 million.

Swedavia President and CEO Jonas Abrahamsson said: “After a travel-intensive summer, we are pleased to note that demand for both domestic and international flights remained strong in September. There is a great need to travel to meet friends and family but also for work after several years of pandemic. This is despite slowing economic growth and global uncertainty.”

Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis 31 months ago, Swedavia noted it has lost more than 68 million passengers compared to the 31 months before the pandemic.

SPAIN. The network of Spanish airport operator Aena closed September with a recovery of 91.7% of passengers compared to the same month of 2019. More than 24.8 million passengers passed through its facilities.

Of those passengers, 16,828,868 travelled on international flights, -12.2% less than in September 2019; and 7,974,658 did so on domestic flights, +1.1% more than the same month of 2019.

In the first nine months of 2022, a recovery of 86.1% of passenger traffic has been achieved compared to the same period of 2019.

LATVIA. Riga Airport welcomed 3.94 million passengers In the first nine months of this year, almost three times more than in the same period of 2021.

In September, the number of passengers served at the airport exceeded 534,000, representing a +60% increase compared to the same month last year. The average flight occupancy rate was almost 80%.

The number of flights operated in January-September increased by +62% compared to last year, from 25,200 flights in 2021 to 40,800 flights this year.

17 October

AUSTRIA. Some 3,371,129 passengers were served by Flughafen Wien Group in September, across its airports in Vienna, Malta and Kosice.

Vienna Airport accounted for 2,650,592 of those passengers, close to 90% of the level recorded in pre-pandemic September 2019.

Malta Airport served 658,569 travellers in September, +57.4% compared to the same month of last year and 86.4% of the pre-crisis level of September 2019.

Kosice Airport served 61,968 passengers (+160.7% compared to September 2021), only -2.2% below the number of passengers it welcomed in September 2019.

USA. International traffic almost doubled at Orlando International Airport in August 2022 compared to the same month of last year, with a total of 578,354 passengers. Domestic passenger traffic was up +10.81% by the same comparison with 3,684,405 travellers.

Combined, total traffic was up +21.16 percent in August with 4,262,759 passengers.

Domestic traffic for the rolling 12-month period is now slightly ahead of the domestic passenger count for calendar year 2019.

JORDAN. Airport International Group has revealed that Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) welcomed 5,835,186 passengers during the first nine months of 2022. That represents a +89.6% increase and -15.6% decline against 2021 and 2019 figures, respectively.

During September, 696,096 passengers travelled through QAIA, up +24.8% and down -7.4% against the same month of 2021 and 2019, respectively.

Airport International Group CEO Nicolas Claude said: “We are continuing to build on our close collaborations with various stakeholders to grow our airline and destination networks.

“This was demonstrated in September by the arrival of the first direct Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa, which expanded our reach into the African continent, and further diversified the travel options available to our passengers via Jordan’s prime gateway to the world.”