Passenger traffic at the world"™s airports surged by +7.5% year-on-year in November 2017, according to Airports Council International (ACI). It puts airport passenger volumes on track for a record year, noted ACI World. The growth in November was ahead of the +6.5% average for the year to date (January to November).
Asia Pacific (+10.6%), Africa (+10.5%) and Europe (+8.1%) all posted healthy traffic growth in November. International traffic was a key driver for these increases, especially for European and Asia Pacific markets, noted ACI.
The organisation said: "Strong overall business and consumer confidence continued to boost carriers offering low-cost options. Africa continued to experience a strong recovery, following the recession, which affected the continent"™s largest economies: Nigeria and South Africa. On the other hand, Asia Pacific"™s domestic traffic rose significantly during the month, reaching +9.3%. The figure remained below the region"™s international traffic growth, however, which stood at +12.9%."
Total passenger traffic in North America, Latin America-Caribbean and the Middle East grew at a more moderate pace, reaching +4.8%, +3.8% and +3.5% respectively. Both North America and Latin America-Caribbean were negatively affected by weather events during September, the effects of which are receding. The Middle East"™s growth was still disrupted by tensions between major players in the region, with conflict in Yemen and the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Gulf states still underway.
Asia Pacific"™s largest domestic markets posted significant growth in November, with Indonesia"™s passenger traffic rising at +17.9%, Thailand at +15.9%, India at +14% and China at +12.5%. On a year-to-date basis, India and Indonesia are set to post double-digit growth in 2017.
In Latin America-Caribbean, international passenger traffic reached +6.5%, close to its year to date figures of +6.6%, after sustaining decline in October. This recovery could bring the region"™s growth rate to over 7% by end-of-year, said ACI…
