ACI Asia Pacific Reports 1.8% Increase in Passenger Traffic in January 2013

According to ACI Asia Pacific, the region recorded a slight increase of +1.8% in passenger traffic and +11.3% in air freight traffic in January 2013 when compared to January 2012.

This lower than expected increase in passenger traffic was primarily due to Chinese New Year holiday period which fell in the month of January last year, but in February this year. As a result, passenger numbers were considerably less in January 2013 when compared to the same month last year while cargo traffic increased significantly.

Beijing (PEK) recorded the highest passenger traffic in January 2013 with more than 6.4 million international and domestic passengers; Dubai (DXB) was the second busiest, with 5.5 million passengers. The other 3 airports on the top 5 list are Tokyo Haneda (HND, 4.9 million), Jakarta (CGK, 4.6 million) and Hong Kong (HKG, 4.5 million).

Many major international airports recorded double digit growth in January 2013, they include, Dubai (DXB, +14.6%), Seoul Incheon (ICN, +11.3%) and Abu Dhabi (AUH, +19.6%).

For air freight traffic, Asia Pacific airports recorded an increase of +11.3 % in January 2013 compared to January 2012 while Middle Eastern airports showed an increase of +10.7 %.

The top 5 airports in the region with the highest air freight throughput in January 2013 were Hong Kong (HKG), Shanghai Pudong (PVG), Dubai (DXB), Seoul Incheon (ICN), and Beijing (PEK).