ASIA PACIFIC AND MIDDLE EAST. Passenger traffic was up +15.3% year-on-year in the Middle East and +11.6% in Asia Pacific in July, according to Airports Council International (ACI).
Although ACI said the growth momentum in both regions appears to be accelerating going into the third quarter, it noted that the timing of Ramadan might have positively skewed the month’s traffic growth for some countries. Most of Ramadan occurred during June this year, but it extended into July in 2015.
South Korean airports have reported sharp increases since June 2016 although comparisons with last year are enhanced because of the impact of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak in these months in 2015. Incheon recorded a +44.4% increase in traffic, while at Busan growth was +39.9% and at Jeju +35.2%.
Many major airports in India reported growth in excess of +20% in July. Chennai (+26.2%), Calcutta (+25.9%) and Hyderabad (+25.8%) led the way.
While growth in India was primarily stimulated by domestic gains, ACI said that growth in China was supported by a significant rise in international passengers. Kunming recorded overall growth of +12.8% but a +30.9% increase in international traffic. At Hangzhou it was +11.6% and +56% respectively, and at Shanghai Pudong +11.4% and +20% respectively.
In the Middle East, Doha and Muscat reported the largest increases in passenger traffic growth at +27.5% and +25.6% respectively.
