[July 11, 2018 – Hong Kong] Passenger traffic across Asia-Pacific airports recorded growth at +9.9% in April 2018 while a reduction of -2.4% was observed in the Middle East.
India led the Asia-Pacific region delivering growth at 20.4%, sustained by robust domestic demand. The domestic sector reported growth exceeding 20% for the third consecutive month, at +23.8% in April. Top volume drivers for the month were: Delhi (DEL) +16.8%, Bangalore (BLR) +46.1% and Mumbai (BOM) +12.8%. (Note: the significant growth in Bangalore (BLR) was a result of reduced operations during partial runway closure in 2017).
In China, both the domestic and international sectors delivered double-digit growth for the month, resulting in an overall gain of +11.8%, the country’s highest overall growth to-date in 2018. Top volume drivers for the month included: Beijing (PEK) +18%, Shanghai Pudong (PVG) +11.6%, and Guangzhou (CAN) +9.9%. (Note: the significant growth at PEK was a result of reduced operations in 2017 during closure of the main runway in 2017).
Japan grew +7% for the month, the highest to-date in 2018 possibly benefiting from holiday travels around the cherry blossom and Easter season. Current month’s growth was primarily driven by volume increase at Tokyo Haneda (HND) +6.1%, the second busiest airport in the Asia-Pacific in terms of passenger traffic; followed by Osaka Kansai (KIX) +12.7% and Tokyo Narita (NRT) +5.3%.
In the Middle East, passenger volume recorded an overall decline this month as traffic softened at the larger hubs. Traffic at Dubai (DXB) -0.1% was virtually flat compared to last year. The diplomatic crisis in Qatar continued to negatively impact Doha (DOH) at -18.2%. On the other hand, strong growth continued to be observed at Kuwait (KWI) +19.3% and Muscat (MCT) +9.7%.
After a slow month in March 2018, air freight growth recovered in April 2018, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East grew at +4.2% and +2.6% respectively. Hong Kong continued to be the top freight hub delivering volume growth at +5% followed by Shanghai Pudong (PVG) +2.8% and Seoul Incheon (ICN) +0.1%.
TABLE 1: Preliminary year-on-year traffic growth rates for Airports reporting highest traffic volume in the respective size category in April 2018 1
Top 3 airports by size category2 |
||||||
Passenger |
Freight |
|||||
> 40M |
25M to 40M |
15M to 25M |
5M to 15M |
|
|
|
Beijing (PEK) +18.0% |
Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) +9.8% |
Xiamen (XMN) +9.3% |
Kuwait (KWI) +19.3% |
Hong Kong (HKG) +5.0% |
|
|
Dubai (DXB) -0.1%
|
Hangzhou (HGH) +9.0%
|
Fukuoka (FUK) +8.0% |
Muscat (MCT) +9.7% |
Shanghai Pudong (PVG) +2.8% |
|
|
Tokyo Haneda (HND) +6.1%
|
Melbourne (MEL) +3.2% |
Tianjin (TSN) +9.7% |
Nanchang (KHN) +48.2% |
Seoul Incheon (ICN) +0.1% |
|
|
Note :
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About Airports Council International Asia-Pacific
ACI Asia-Pacific, one of the five regions of the Airports Council International (ACI), is based in Hong Kong and represents 106 members operating 605 airports in 49 countries/ territories in Asia-Pacific and the Middle-East.
As the only global trade association of the world’s airports, ACI represents airports’ interests with governments and international organizations, develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports, and provides information and training opportunities to raise standards around the world. In 2016, ACI Asia-Pacific airports have handled 3.1 billion passengers and 52.2 million tonnes of cargo.
For further information, please contact:
Vivian Fung
Senior Manager, External Affairs
ACI Asia-Pacific
Tel: (852) 2989 8006
Email: vivian@aci-asiapac.aero
Website: www.aci-asiapac.aero
Created with the objective to benefit both airports and World Business Partner members, the WBP Capability Database is a unique platform where WBP of ACI Asia-Pacific can showcase their expertise with examples of projects undertaken or in progress while airport members can input search criteria to look for potential business partners to accomplish their airport development projects.
The WBP Capability Database is a unique service that is only available to WBP of ACI Asia-Pacific.