Emerging markets moving more people

Airports in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East experienced strong passenger and freight growth last year. Passenger traffic for the period January to November 2012 was up 7.2 percent in Asia-Pacific and increased 11.4 percent in the Middle East when compared to the same period last year. Numerous major airports in these areas including Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Melbourne, Tokyo Narita, Seoul Incheon, Dubai and Bangkok reported double digit increases in passenger numbers year-over-year for the month of November 2012. ACI Passenger and Freight Flash Reports revealed a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent for the Asia-Pacific region, while the Middle East posted a 7 percent rise in passenger numbers compared with November 2011. Bangkok International Airport posted an enormous increase of 20.6 percent year-on-year for November 2012, but this was largely due to the severe flooding experienced in the last quarter of 2011. Beijing was the busiest airport in the region, with over 6.5 million passengers through the gates in November 2012. For air freight traffic, Asia-Pacific airports recorded an increase of +2.9% compared to November last year. Year-to-date result from January to November 2012, showed a slight increase of +0.3%. Air freight traffic continued to grow at a sturdy rate, growing 2.9 percent in Asia-Pacific and 2.7 percent in the Middle East for the period January to November 2012, compared with the same period in 2011. “It is encouraging to note that over 20 airports in the region recorded double-digit growth in November compared to same month last year, this number is significantly higher than in previous months,” ACI Asia-Pacific regional director Patti Chau said.