While eleventh Annual Airport Economics and Finance Conference and Exhibition in London, the Airports Council International (ACI) World has published preliminary rankings of worldwide airport traffic covering passenger traffic, cargo volume and aircraft traffic
ACI found that passenger traffic remained regular in 2018 and is estimated to have reached 8.8 billion, a rise of roughly 6% in comparison with the previous 12 months. This growth exceeds the compound annual growth rate of passenger traffic of 4.3% between 2007 and 2017.
The air cargo market didn’t perform in addition to passenger traffic, which grew by 3.2% at the tip of the 12 months. This contrasts with a much stronger 12 months of growth in 2017, but comes against the backdrop of worldwide trade tensions between the United States and several other of its closest trading partners.
Passenger traffic on the world’s 20 busiest airports – which account for 17% of all global passenger traffic – increased by 4.7% in 2018 as greater than 1.5 billion passengers used these airports. These:
- Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson Airport retained the leading position and served over 107 million passengers
- Beijing airport exceeded the 100 million passenger mark in 2018, growing by 5.4% and remaining in second place.
- Dubai Airport remained in third place because, after years of double-digit percentage growth, traffic increased by 1%.
The variety of the 20 airports with the very best air traffic volume increased by 2.4% in 2018. Chicago O’Hare International Airport has surpassed Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson Airport to grow to be the world’s busiest airport by way of air traffic. Both airports experienced slight declines in 2017, but have since grown by 4.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
“It is encouraging that growth in global passenger traffic remains resilient in an increasingly tense and challenging geopolitical climate,” said Angela Gittens, ACI global director general. “However, aviation is deeply intertwined with the worldwide economy and native development, and the protectionist rhetoric that has gripped several Western countries will proceed to limit growth within the efficient flow of individuals, goods and services.
“As travel costs fall in lots of markets and the center class grows in emerging markets, passenger traffic growth stays unstoppable. Indeed, ACI’s global medium-term forecasts indicate that demand growth for aviation services will increase by almost 30% between 2018 and 2023. This signifies that many national governments face a difficult situation where demand outstrips available airport infrastructure.
Southeast Asia is represented by the 2 largest airports by way of passenger numbers: Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Indonesia and Changi Airport. Last 12 months, Jakarta served 66.9 million passengers, followed by Changi Airport with 65.6 million.
Source: International Airports Council
