Global passenger and freight traffic started the year strongly, with year-over-year cabins growth of more than 6.4 per cent and freight up 2.8 per cent in January.
This comes after a rise of four per cent in passenger traffic for 2013 as a whole. Most of the buoyant activity in passenger traffic stems from double-digit growth rates of 10 per cent-plus in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
International travel continues to post robust growth with a January increase of 7.8 per cent, whereas domestic traffic increased by 5.1 per cent.
Air freight volumes maintain momentum for the fourth month in a row. Overall volumes increased by 2.8 per cent in January. Most of the rise in air freight activity came from improvements in international freight markets as a result of growing business confidence and improvements in international trade. Major international freight hubs Dubai (DXB), Hong Kong (HKG) and Incheon (ICN) posted gains of 4.5 per cent, 5.3 per cent and eight per cent respectively in international freight traffic.
“While there is an improvement in global economic conditions on several fronts, there is still a sense that we have not completely weathered the storm,” said ACI World’s economics director Rafael Echevarne. “Although we see relatively strong growth in international freight markets, domestic markets in North America and Asia-Pacific continue to decline. “With talk of a Chinese slowdown, this may translate into bad news for the air freight market, particularly at major freight hubs in the region. We should therefore treat the recent resurgence in air freight with cautious optimism.
"On the other hand, it seems to be business as usual for passenger traffic irrespective of the economic woes. In particular, international travel continues to burgeon in many markets. Several major airports located in Brazil, Russia, India and China experienced double digit growth rates in January. South East Asian airports also posted strong gains on the month," Echevarne added.
Global passenger and freight traffic started the year strongly, with year-over-year cabins growth of more than 6.4 per cent and freight up 2.8 per cent in January.
This comes after a rise of four per cent in passenger traffic for 2013 as a whole. Most of the buoyant activity in passenger traffic stems from double-digit growth rates of 10 per cent-plus in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
International travel continues to post robust growth with a January increase of 7.8 per cent, whereas domestic traffic increased by 5.1 per cent.
Air freight volumes maintain momentum for the fourth month in a row. Overall volumes increased by 2.8 per cent in January. Most of the rise in air freight activity came from improvements in international freight markets as a result of growing business confidence and improvements in international trade. Major international freight hubs Dubai (DXB), Hong Kong (HKG) and Incheon (ICN) posted gains of 4.5 per cent, 5.3 per cent and eight per cent respectively in international freight traffic.
“While there is an improvement in global economic conditions on several fronts, there is still a sense that we have not completely weathered the storm,” said ACI World’s economics director Rafael Echevarne. “Although we see relatively strong growth in international freight markets, domestic markets in North America and Asia-Pacific continue to decline. “With talk of a Chinese slowdown, this may translate into bad news for the air freight market, particularly at major freight hubs in the region. We should therefore treat the recent resurgence in air freight with cautious optimism.
"On the other hand, it seems to be business as usual for passenger traffic irrespective of the economic woes. In particular, international travel continues to burgeon in many markets. Several major airports located in Brazil, Russia, India and China experienced double digit growth rates in January. South East Asian airports also posted strong gains on the month," Echevarne added.
