Asia Pacific sees strongest growth in international traffic since April 2017

ASIA PACIFIC. International traffic in Asia Pacific soared +12.4% in March, offering comfort to the travel retail industry following significant monthly volatility in the region over the last 12 months.

That’s according to analyst Air4casts, which noted that the March growth is the strongest in the region since April 2017. The March figure is based on 77% of traffic data in Asia Pacific for the month.

Source (all charts): Air4casts
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Growth has accelerated significantly since the start of 2018, Air4casts said. It has been driven by a range of factors including the impact of Chinese New Year and a “real recovery” in South Korea.

Osaka Kansai was the strongest airport performer during March, with a +18.5% year-on-year increase. It was followed by Shanghai Pudong with a robust +17.4% increase, its fastest monthly rate of growth since September 2016.

Incheon International Airport posted strong +16.2% growth, as Air4casts noted the impact of recovery since the THAAD crisis between South Korea and China.


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Hong Kong International Airport’s +8.5% uplift was the airport’s second largest in a year while Singapore Changi’s +8.8% increase contrasted sharply with +0.9% growth in January.

Bangkok Suvarnabhumi’ s +9% increase was well under half the rate sustained by Bangkok’s other airport, Don Mueang International.

Kuala Lumpur’s +9.5% point monthly increase was lower than the +13.2% it reported for the 12 month period to end March.

Air4casts also noted that Manila has now posted double-digit rates of growth in seven out of the last twelve months.

Taking a cross-section of the region’s key markets, India and China are almost neck-and-neck in international air passenger growth terms in March.


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International traffic grew in both countries by just over +15% during the month, although China’s international air traffic market is more than double the size of India’s.

South Korea’s airports together posted growth of almost +17% in the month. Air4casts said “even long suffering” Jeju International “bounced back to the tune of +41% over the last year”.

Macau, although relatively small in international air traffic terms, posted a +26.5% increase in March – which followed an almost identical surge in February.

Air4casts said Thailand performed “extremely well”, particularly at the smaller airports, with Phuket International up +31%.

Finally, the analyst noted that growth in Australia and New Zealand was “less dramatic but solid nevertheless”.

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