ACI Asia-Pacific airports recorded double-digit growth in August 2013

Asia-Pacific airports recorded double-digit growth in August 2013 according to the latest ACI Passenger and Freight Flash Reports. Boosted by the summer holiday traffic, both international and domestic passenger numbers have shown remarkable increase, registering a year-on-year growth of +10% in Asia-Pacific and +18.5% in the Middle East.

Year-to-date passenger traffic from January to August 2013 showed an increase of +6.5% and +11.5% in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East respectively comparing to same period last year.

The top 5 busiest airport in the month of August 2013 were Beijing (PEK), Tokyo Haneda (HND), Dubai (DXB), Hong Kong (HKG) and Jakarta (CGK). Dubai (DXB) continues to realize its gains in international passenger traffic for August (+23%) by serving as the fulcrum that connects east and west, while Jakarta’s traffic growth (+16%) is largely attributed to its burgeoning domestic market of over 42 million passengers per annum. Other airports that recorded double-digit growth in passenger traffic included Kuala Lumpur (KUL), up 28.3%; Delhi (DEL), up 20.1% and Mumbai (BOM), up 22.4%.

Air cargo traffic continues to be stagnant, +0.5% year-on-year increase at Asia-Pacific airports and +1.3% increase in the Middle East were recorded in August 2013. Despite the slow growth, some airports such as Abu Dhabi (AUH) handled 29.9% more cargo than August 2012, Delhi (DEL), up 18.5% and Jakarta (CGK), up 13.7%.

The first eight months of 2013 saw a small decline of -0.7% in cargo traffic in Asia-Pacific but a strong +6.3% increase for airports in the Middle East.

The top 5 airports with the highest cargo throughput in August 2013 were Hong Kong (HKG), Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Seoul Incheon (ICN), Dubai (DXB) and Tokyo Narita (NRT).

 Note:

1. ASP = Asia-Pacific Area; ME = Middle East Area
2. ACI PaxFlash and FreightFlash 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.