Passenger traffic across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East recorded a moderate growth of 2.7 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively as per Airports Council International Asia-Pacific (ACI Asia-Pacific) Monthly Traffic Report – February 2019 statistics.
China saw a 7 per cent year-on-year growth, supported by solid domestic demands and increased leisure travel demand during the Lunar New Year. The top three airports with the most passenger volume increase from last year were: Shenzhen (up 11 per cent), Shanghai Hongqiao (up 12.7 per cent) and Beijing (up 4.2 per cent).
Passenger growth in India increased 2.2 percent year on year and continued to trend downward especially in the domestic sector. Some of the factors responsible are – partial runway closures at Mumbai and Bangalore; and closure of Pakistani airspace, to name a few. High growth airports in February in Asia-Pacific are: Seoul Incheon (up 5.3 per cent) and Kuala Lumpur (up 3 per cent).
In the Middle East, passenger growth continued to soften. Dubai, the largest hub in the region, witnessed a decline of 1.3 per cent. Bahrain continued to report the highest growth in the region at 15.8 per cent. Other high-growth airports in February included: Doha (6.1 per cent), Muscat (up 9.9 per cent) and Sharjah (up 8.5 per cent).
Tags: asia pacific, Middle East
