Airports Council International has released its “World Annual Traffic Report” for 2010.
“This annual Report is ACI’s flagship publication, a unique and comprehensive industry reference presenting data from over 1,300 airports in 157 countries,” says Angela Gittens, director general of ACI World. “The report for 2010 documents a strong rebound from the two-year industry slump. Global passenger traffic rose by 6.6%, topping the 5 billion passenger mark for the first time. Cargo volumes also hit a record, surging past 91 million tonnes with 15.3% growth. Once again, our industry has shown its resiliency in recovering from a downturn and resuming its historical trajectory of impressive growth.” Among the information in the report:
– Worldwide airport passenger numbers went up 6.6% to 5.04 billion, showing increases in all six regions.
– The Middle East showed a 12% increase, Asia-Pacific showed an 11.3% increase, Africa showed a 9.5% increase and Latin America-Caribbean showed a 13.2% increase; Europe and North America grew more robustly.
– Worldwide domestic traffic increased by 5.8% and international traffic was up 7.7%.
– Worldwide aircraft movements rose 1.1% to 74 million.
– Total cargo volumes handled by airports increased 15.3% to 91 million tonnes.
– Sixty-nine percent of airports worldwide showed a positive passenger growth at an average of 8.6%; 30% of airports lost traffic at an average rate of 4.1%.
“While ACI welcomes the industry’s rebound, these numbers underscore the urgency of the airport capacity challenge,” Gittens says. “Airport operators worldwide are focusing on the need to provide the passenger a positive, seamless travel experience, and planning new capacity to meet the expected doubling of passengers in the next 15 to 20 years. More than ever, governments and our airline partners will need to work closely with our airports to ensure that the required capacity is added in a safe, secure, efficient and sustainable manner. At the same time, air navigation systems will need to be upgraded to keep pace with the growth curve.”
