In Asia-Pacific, domestic passenger travels continued to stimulate growth in India with many airports reporting passenger traffic increase in excess of 20% compared to the same month last year.
HONG KONG – In October 2016, Asia-Pacific and Middle East reported passenger traffic increase at +8.4% and +3.8% respectively.
In Asia-Pacific, domestic passenger travels continued to stimulate growth in India with many airports reporting passenger traffic increase in excess of 20% compared to the same month last year. Top runners include: Calcutta (CCU) +37.7%, Goa (GOI) +24.4% and Bangalore (BLR) +23.6%.
In China, while still primarily a domestic market, many airports are actively pursuing growth in international passengers. Kunming (KMG) led the pack in October 2016 with overall passenger increase at +15.4% followed by Xi’an (XIY) +15.1% and Tianjin (TSN) +14.8%.
Elsewhere in the region, Kuala Lumpur (KUL) maintained its momentum of recovery from a period of slow growth since 2014 and delivered an increase at +14.6%. Hong Kong (HKG) was the only major hub in the region recorded a decline of -0.8% in October, largely caused by one-off flight reduction arrangements to accommodate the airport’s transition to a new air traffic management system.
The pace of passenger traffic growth in the Middle East appeared to be slowing down against the backdrop of a more challenging market environment. Dubai (DXB), the largest hub in the region, recorded +2.7% more passengers than same month last year whereas Doha (DOH) remained in leading position delivering growth at +16.7%.
Regarding air freight, despite global trade growth remaining weak, in October 2016 both Asia-Pacific and Middle East continued the strong performance in recent months and generated an increase of +10.2% and +11.5% respectively.
In Asia-Pacific, the surge in volume in October was contributed in part by the strengthening of international freight market. In addition, the gaining popularity of e-commerce in the region may have given further stimulus to air freight as it plays an increasingly important role in the e-commerce chain. The top three freight hubs all delivered robust increase: Hong Kong (HKG) +7.1%, Shanghai Pudong (PVG) +11.3% and Seoul Incheon (ICN) +10.6%.
Middle East also appeared to be gathering momentum going into the fourth quarter, air freight volumes in October at all major hubs reported substantial gains: Dubai (DXB) +9.5%, Doha (DOH) +21.5%, and Abu Dhabi (AUH) +6.7%.
TABLE 1: Airports reporting highest preliminary year-on-year traffic growth rates in October 20161
| Top 3 airports by size category2 | ||||
| Passenger | Freight | |||
| > 40M | 25M to 40M | 15M to 25M | 5M to 15M | |
| Beijing (PEK) +5.1% | Xi’an (XIY) +15.1% | Seoul Gimpo (GMP) +3.7% | Calcutta (CCU) +37.7% | Hong Kong (HKG) +7.1% |
| Tokyo Haneda (HND) +5.7% | Tokyo Narita (NRT) +4.5% | Kansai (KIX) +5.0% |
Osaka Itami (ITM) +2.2% | Shanghai Pudong (PVG) +11.3% |
| Dubai (DXB) +2.7% |
Manila (MNL) +3.8% | Brisbane (BNE) +0.6% | Busan (PUS) +9.6% |
Seoul Incheon (ICN) +10.6% |
Note :
- ACI preliminary passenger and freight 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.
- Size categories refer to the annual passenger traffic (in the last 12 months)
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
