Gulf airports outpace APAC rivals
Middle East airports have grown passenger volumes at twice the rate of their Asia-Pacific rivals in the year to July, according to Airports Council International (ACI).
For year-to-date passenger traffic from January to July 2014, the Middle East saw an increase of +8.4%, while the Asia-Pacific posted an increase of +4.2%.
Passenger traffic maintained a steady growth rate for the month of July 2014, Asia-Pacific airports recorded a year-on-year increase of +3.5% while airports in the Middle East posted an increase of +5.0%.
From January to July 2014, the top 5 busiest airports in the region were Beijing (PEK, +1.6%), Tokyo Haneda (HND, +5.6%), Dubai (DXB, +4.9%), Hong Kong (HKG, +6.1%) and Jakarta (CGK, -5.2%). Tokyo Haneda (HND)’s growth was partially attributed to the strong increase in international passenger traffic (+21.7%), whereas Jakarta (CGK) was impacted by slowdown of domestic passenger traffic (-6.4%).
The Middle Eastern airports continued to demonstrate sturdy growth for the year to date, with Abu Dhabi (AUH, +19.7%) and Doha (DOH, +14%) posting double-digit growth. Other airports in the region reporting growth rates in excess of 15% include: Bangkok Don Muang (DMK, +21.5%), Kaohsiung (KHH, +20.5%), Chiang Mai (CNX, +19.4%) and Goa (GOI, +17.4%).
Freight volumes continue to show signs of strong recovery with improvements in global trade and commerce. Cargo traffic recorded robust growth for the month of July 2014. Asia-Pacific airports recorded a year-on-year growth of +6.8% while the Middle East recorded growth of +12.0%. Year-to-date growth was +5.1% for Asia-Pacific and +9.6% for the Middle East. The strong growth in the Middle East was primarily driven by the recent expanded operations at Doha (DOH) and Dubai World Central (DWC).
The top 5 airports in the region with the highest cargo throughput from January to July 2014: Hong Kong (HKG, +6.7%), Shanghai Pudong (PVG, +8.3%), Seoul Incheon (ICN, +3.9%), Dubai (DXB, -3.1%) and Tokyo Narita (NRT, +9.0%).
