Double digit gains for airports in Asia Pacific

According to data compiled by ACI-Asia Pacific, passenger traffic exhibited strong growth in May with Asia Pacific and Middle East airports both reporting double digit gains year-on-year at +10.6% and +10.9% respectively.

Despite a slowdown in regional trade activities, passenger growth was supported by robust international traffic. A number of the major airports recorded year-on-year growth in excess of 20%: Dubai (DXB) +23.2%, Shanghai (PVG) +22%, Bangkok (BKK) +22.8%.

Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) continued to deliver the highest growth among major airports at +49.6%.

In contrast, air freight in both regions continued to be impacted by weak economic growth in Europe and slowdown across Asian export markets. Asia Pacific recorded marginal increase of +1.6% while the Middle East grew +4.4% from last year. Among major cargo airports in the region, New Delhi (DEL) led Asia-Pacific with the highest growth rate at +16% whereas Doha (DOH) led the Middle East at +14.7% for the month.

The month of May showed diverging results for passenger and freight traffic in both Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. While passenger traffic remained resilient, the slowdown in trade activities and air freight traffic may put downward pressures on business travels in the coming months.