ACI reports 3% fall in 2009 pax numbers

Airports Council International (ACI) reports (02-Feb-2010) the following traffic highlights:

• Dec-2009:
  • Passenger numbers: 258.3 million, +5.3% year-on-year;
    • Domestic: 139.5 million, +5.2%;
    • International: 116.5 million, +5.6%;
  • Cargo volume: 5.3 million tonnes, +23.3%;
    • Domestic: 1.7 million tonnes, +15.3%;
    • International: 3.5 million tonnes, +27.9%.
• 2009:
  • Passenger numbers: 3222 million, -2.6% year-on-year;
    • Domestic: 1711 million, -1.2%;
    • International: 1485 million, -4%;
  • Cargo volume: 55.2 million tonnes, -8%;
    • Domestic: 17.6 million tonnes, -2.8%;
    • International: 36.9 million tonnes, -10.3%.

ACI: "Looking at full year 2009, global traffic results were much better than expected earlier in the year, finishing at just 2.6% below 2008. Fears that 3Q2009 traffic would decline substantially did not materialize, and the stabilization seen provided a platform for remarkable fourth quarter growth. Even taking into account falling global traffic demand in late 2008 and the impact on Asia Pacific results in 2008 of the closure of the Bangkok airport due to a political siege, which slightly inflate the percentage growth comparison, passenger and freight results are very promising," ACI World Director of Economics Andreas Schimm. Source: ACI, 02-Feb-2010.