INTERNATIONAL. Global passenger traffic climbed by +6.4% year-on-year in 2017, according to preliminary figures from Airports Council International (ACI). It is the third year in a row that traffic growth has been above +6%. Traffic rose +5.7% in December, the organisation said.
ACI noted that “looming challenges remain on the horizon” but were yet to severely restrict growth.
“The combination of concerns over the risk of trade protectionism and geopolitical tensions were insufficient in curbing the flow of passengers across the world,” ACI reported. “Global travel and tourism remained irrepressible.”
After several years of continued robust growth, passenger traffic surpassed the 8.2 billion mark in 2017. ACI said the encouraging results might be a sign “that fears concerning the impact of inward-looking policies have not fully precipitated across sectors of the economy”.
Europe (+8.5%) and Asia Pacific (+7.8%) helped drive the increase in passenger traffic. ACI noted the uncertain impact of Brexit (the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union) in Europe. But it said strong overall business and consumer confidence, coupled with the offer of competitive transportation options by carriers, “continued to boost the propensity for air travel”.
In Asia Pacific, many Indian and Chinese airports continued to achieve double-digit passenger traffic growth.
Both Africa (+5.9%) and Latin America/Caribbean (+4.3%) experienced a revival in passenger traffic following the recessions of the region’s major economies – Nigeria and Brazil respectively.
Middle Eastern airports achieved moderate passenger traffic growth of +4.7% when compared to previous years. ACI said this was due mainly to the Qatari diplomatic crisis, which resulted in travel bans and trade blockades between Qatar and other Gulf countries.
Passenger traffic was up +3.5% at North American airports – above its average of +1.1% per annum over the last two decades. “The continued inroads made by companies such as Southwest Airlines, the world’s largest low-cost carrier, as well as expansive global growth in the burgeoning Pacific and Central American markets are among the catalysts of this growth,” ACI said.
Some of the region’s largest hubs have seen a resurgence in growth over the last couple of years. In 2017, passenger traffic grew +5.3% at Denver International Airport, +5.1% at San Francisco International Airport, and +4.5% at Los Angeles International Airport.
