ASIA PACIFIC/MIDDLE EAST. Passenger numbers travelling through Asia Pacific and Middle Eastern airports in August grew by +6.2% and +5.2% respectively year-on-year, according to Airports Council International (ACI) Asia-Pacific.
Robust domestic passenger travel continued to stimulate growth in India with monthly growth rates consistently maintained at above +10%, the association said. At Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, both domestic and international traffic posted double-digit growth with total passenger volumes up by +12.7% year-on-year.
Other top performers included Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata (+29.5%) and Kempegowda International Airport (serving Bangalore) ahead by +14%.
In China, August growth was largely driven by domestic passenger traffic, ACI Asia-Pacific said. However, the pace of growth eased from last year, resulting in many airports reporting a monthly decline, including the largest, Beijing Capital International (-5%). The two airports adjacent to the Beijing area continued to benefit from sharing passenger loads in the region and reported substantial gains: Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport posted a +27.4% rise while traffic at Tianjin Binhai International Airport was up +21%.
In terms of total volume (as opposed to percentage) growth, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (+9.4%) was the stand-out performer, followed by Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport (+11.5%) and Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (+10.1%).
Elsewhere in the region, Japan benefited from summer vacation travel, leading to many airports reporting strong gains in international passenger traffic. Kansai International Airport led the growth with a +12.9% rise, followed by Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport (+9.4%) and Fukuoka Airport (+8.3%). At Tokyo Haneda, Japan’s busiest airport, international passenger growth also exceeded +10% and contributed to a +5.1% total traffic increase year-on-year.
In the Middle East, passenger traffic showed mixed results in August. Hamad International Airport in Doha saw volumes slump by -13.1% due to Qatar’s diplomatic crisis with several neighbouring states. Traffic at Kuwait International Airport rose +26.3%, while Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (+16.4%) and Muscat International Airport (+15.7%) also recorded sizable gains. The region’s largest hub, Dubai International, handled +6.6% more passengers than in August 2016.
ACI preliminary passenger statistics are based on a “significant sample” of airports that provide regular monthly reports to ACI. They represent approximately 60% of total passenger traffic and 70% of total freight traffic worldwide.
Commentary, tables and charts are based on preliminary data submitted by participating airports and are therefore subject to change.
ACI Asia-Pacific, one of the five regions of Airports Council International, is based in Hong Kong. It represents 104 members operating 580 airports in 48 countries in Asia Pacific and the Middle East.
