Airports in Asia Pacific Record 5.3% Increase in Passenger Traffic in May 2014

According to data compiled by ACI Asia-Pacific, airline passenger traffic maintained steady growth for the month of May 2014 with airports in Asia Pacific recording a year-on-year increase of +5.3%, while airports in the Middle East recorded an increase of +7.5%.

Beijing (PEK) was the busiest airport for the month followed by Tokyo Haneda (HND), Hong Kong (HKG), Dubai (DXB), and Jakarta (CGK). Passengers travelling through Dubai (DXB) dropped by -2.5% in May compared to last year reflecting the impact of the temporary closure of two runways for refurbishment.

For year-to-date passenger traffic from January to May 2014, the Middle East continued to lead the region with a strong increase of +10.0%, while the Asia-Pacific posted an increase of +5.4%.

From January to May 2014, the busiest airports in the Middle East continued to demonstrate robust growth from last year: Abu Dhabi (AUH, +19%), Doha (DOH, +15.1%) and Dubai (DXB, +9.2%). During this period, Bangkok Don Muang (DMK) and Kaohsiung (KHH) lead Asia Pacific airports in year over year growth both reporting growth rate in excess of +20%. Bangkok Don Muang (DMK)’s growth was supported by strong domestic traffic, whereas Kaohsiung (KHH)’s growth was driven by increase in international traffic.

Cargo traffic growth in the region appears to be stabilizing with improving global demand. Asia-Pacific airports recorded a year-on-year growth of +5.6% for the month of May 2014 while the Middle East recorded a decrease of -0.5%. Year-to-date growth was +5.0% for Asia-Pacific and +3.9% for the Middle East.

The top 5 airports with the highest cargo throughput from January to May 2014 were: Hong Kong (HKG, +6.2%), Shanghai Pudong (PVG, +7.8%), Seoul Incheon (ICN, +4.2%), Dubai (DXB, +0.8%) and Tokyo Narita (NRT, +10.3%). The slowdown in cargo traffic growth in the Middle East was driven primarily by Dubai (DXB)’s temporary runway closure.