Global
passenger markets remain buoyant with growth of almost 5% year over
year for the first half of 2011 and for June 2012.
While
certain domestic markets have slowed in North America (+0.8%), Europe
(-0.3%) and Africa (-2.4%), international passenger traffic has shown
strong growth in June. Africa (+19.2%) and the Middle East (+13.9%)
recovered from the sharp declines in traffic in 2011 brought on by
the Arab Spring. Asia-Pacific also posted double-digit gains in
international passenger traffic at +12.3%.
With
business confidence in a fragile state, freight traffic has been
relatively sluggish in the first half of 2012 declining by -1
percent. Nevertheless, an overall gain of +1 percent year over year
was observed in June 2012. While leading freight hubs in Asia
rebounded from several months of traffic declines, many key freight
hubs in North America continue to experience declines in freight
traffic. Although Memphis (MEM), North America’s major freight
airport, achieved growth of +3%, eight of the top ten major freight
airports in the United States saw declines in traffic. Domestic
freight volumes in Europe were also stagnant with a decline of -1%.
Conversely, freight traffic increased in
the Middle East and Latin America-Caribbean by +9.2% and +3.7%
respectively.
ACI
World’s Economics Director Rafael Echevarne commented, “Whilst
overall growth is relatively uniform and stable across passenger
markets from month to month, the freight market is more heterogeneous
across various regions. Burgeoning markets in the Middle East and
Latin America-Caribbean are less encumbered by the slowdown that is
sweeping across other regions. Though the economic outlook is ominous
for many major economies, emerging markets continue to be, fuelled by
their strong domestic demand, and persevere despite these downside
risks.”
