INTERNATIONAL. Total worldwide passenger traffic reached an all time high in 2006, increasing by +4.8% over 2005, final year-end figures from Airports Council International (ACI) member airports show.
The 1,100 ACI member airports processed 4.4 billion passengers and 85.6 million metric tonnes of cargo and 72.2 million aircraft movements, demonstrating that performance is on track according to industry growth forecasts, said ACI.
ACI Director General Robert J Aaronson said: “The statistics tell a great story – of growth and stability. Three quarters of airports worldwide reported positive passenger growth. The figures are equally positive in broader economic terms, with traffic closely aligned to world GDP growth of just over +5% in 2006.
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Source: ACI (figures are for full year 2006 at the world’s top 10 airports by passenger numbers) | |
Released by ACI this week, the 2006 World Airport Traffic Report (WATR) provides airport-by-airport and country-by-country traffic results and highlights the top performers in each region. The report indicates that international passenger traffic grew by a brisk +6.8%, with strong markets in China, India and the UAE boosting results in the Asia Pacific (+9.7%) and Middle East (+8.6%) regions.
If this trend continues, Asia Pacific will replace North America as the region with the largest passenger volume within 10 years. Tourism destinations drove traffic increases across the African continent, with Morocco benefiting from a new open skies agreement with the European Union.
Domestic traffic growth rates in most regions were largely aligned with international results, excepting in North America where domestic traffic was flat for the year (+0.5%). Latin America and Caribbean had good domestic traffic results (+5.5%) but international traffic declined overall for the region due to poor results in Brazil related to carrier difficulties and air traffic controller shutdowns.
Aaronson said: “In 2006 each region manifested trends that mirror improved global economic growth. Airports look forward to playing a central role in a competitive environment as pillars of healthy local and regional economies, promoting new business development and stable employment.”
MORE STORIES ON ACI
ACI Europe reports +4% passenger rise in May – 13/07/07
Global passenger traffic posts +4.8% increase in May, reports ACI World – 29/06/07
Solid ACI traffic figures show Middle East driving international passenger growth – 03/06/07
European passenger traffic rises +3.8% in April 2007, reports ACI Europe – 14/06/07
