Moderate Asia Pacific Passenger Traffic Growth in August 2014

According to data compiled by ACI Asia Pacific, passenger traffic maintained a moderate growth rate for the month of August 2014 with Asia Pacific airports recording a year-on-year increase of +3.3%, while airports in the Middle East posted an increase of +9.0%.

In August 2014, Beijing (PEK) was the busiest airport despite almost flat growth (+0.7%) whereas Dubai (DXB), the busiest airport in the region for international passengers, rebounded by +10.8% as the runways resumed operation in late July after the 80-day closure.

Many airports in the region reported double digit growth for the month, with the following five airports reaching growth rate in excess of +20%: Bangkok Don Muang (DMK), Bahrain (BAH), Abu Dhabi (AUH), Chiang Mai (CNX) and Cochin (COK).

For year-to-date passenger traffic from January to August 2014, the Middle East continued to lead the region with a strong increase of +8.5%, while Asia Pacific posted an increase of +4.6%.

The top 5 busiest airports in the region for the year to date were Beijing (PEK, +1.4%), Tokyo Haneda (HND, +5.7%), Dubai (DXB, +5.7%), Hong Kong (HKG, +5.7%) and Jakarta (CGK, -5.1%).

The Middle Eastern airports maintained sturdy growth for the year to date, with Abu Dhabi (AUH, +20.5%), Sharjah (SHJ, +14.2%), and Doha (DOH, +13.8%) posting double-digit growth.

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 August 2014. Asia Pacific airports recorded a year-on-year growth of +8.2% while the Middle East recorded a significant growth of +20.5%. Year-to-date growth was +5.8% for Asia-Pacific and +10.9% 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 five airports in the region with the highest cargo throughput from January to August 2014: Hong Kong (HKG, +6.9%), Shanghai Pudong (PVG, +8.9%), Seoul Incheon (ICN, +4.0%), Dubai (DXB, -2.2%) and Tokyo Narita (NRT, +8.6%).