Airports Council International (ACI) reported that for the month of May, passenger traffic continued the pattern of strong and stable growth seen over the past 12 months. Total passenger traffic increased by 6.9% as compared to the previous year, while international passenger traffic outpaced domestic traffic at 7.3% versus 6.7%, respectively.
May is known as a shoulder-season month, and such strong growth in international traffic brings good news and a positive outlook for the peak months of summer. While all regions reported gains in total passenger traffic, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East remain the fastest growing regions with 10.6% and 10.9% gains, respectively. International passenger traffic for these regions grew by 11.6% and 11.4%, respectively.
The mature markets of North America and Europe posted total passenger traffic growth above trend at 4.5% and 5.8%, respectively. Latin America-Caribbean also saw strong increases in total passenger traffic at 6.4%. Africa trails with 4.4% total passenger traffic growth, with international traffic (2.9%) circumvented by strong domestic traffic increases (8.5%).
Several of the worlds’ busiest airports experienced double-digit increases in total passenger numbers, with the most notable of them being Dubai (DXB), Bangkok (BKK) and Shanghai (PVG), with growth of 23.2%, 22.8% and 22.0%, respectively. Incheon (ICN) and Delhi (DEL) follow the leading triumvirate with 19.9% and 14.9% growth in total passenger volumes.
