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JORDAN. Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) handled record traffic in August, with 694,343 travellers passing through the recently-renovated national hub.
Airport International Group (AIG) – the Jordanian company responsible for the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of the airport – said passenger traffic was up +15% year-on-year during the month. Aircraft movements also reached an all-time high of 6,465, up +3.8%.
Year-to-date passenger traffic was up +3% to 4.4 million, while year-to-date aircraft movements stood at 45,505, an increase of just +0.01%.
In July, passenger traffic had decreased by -16.3% year-on-year, which the airport operator attributed to lower demand as a result of Ramadan and recent events in Egypt. It also pointed out that expansion works on Al-Haram Al-Shareef in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, caused the cancellation of many Umrah visas worldwide, contributing to a significant drop in direct and transiting pilgrimage traffic.
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A new terminal opened at QAIA earlier this year |
Commenting on the August traffic, AIG CEO Kjeld Binger said: “The Eid and school summer holidays played an important role in triggering higher early-month arrivals and late-month departures among vacationers, along with the extra capacity operated by many airlines to cater to high demand during this period.
“Building on this latest milestone, we anticipate additional traffic growth in upcoming months, particularly in light of the Hajj season and redirected tourism supported by Jordan’s stability in comparison to neighbouring destinations.”
AIG opened the doors to a new terminal at QAIA in March, with the new facility increasing capacity at the hub from 3.5 million passengers annually to 9 million. Future expansion will further increase the airport capacity to 12 million passengers a year.
