Passengers up 3.8% in Asia-Pacific and 2.7% in Middle East

Passenger traffic across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East recorded growth in November at +3.8% and +2.7% respectively.

Despite a slowdown in the overall pace of growth in Asia-Pacific, India continued to lead with approximately +8.0% growth in total passenger traffic compared with last year, while also demonstrating signs of moderation in both the international and domestic sectors. Delhi (DEL), the largest airport in the nation reported only marginal growth of +1% during the month, likely impacted by a temporary runway maintenance closure that reduced operations. The three airports with the most total passenger volume increase were: Bangalore (BLR) +23.8%, Ahmedabad (AMD) +21.8% and Hyderabad (HYD) +11.1%.

In China, the general pace of growth continued to slow and total passenger traffic growth from last year was approximately +3.6%. Most major airports only reported single-digit growth this month. The top three airports with the most passenger volume increase were: Chengdu (CTU) +5.6%, Xi’an (XIY) +5.9% and Guangzhou (CAN) +3.2%.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Seoul Incheon (ICN) generated the highest passenger traffic increase at +7.3%. The growth was partly driven by the sizeable increase in international visitors.

In the Middle East, mixed results were observed. Bahrain (BAH) reported the highest growth in the region with +15.3% increase in total passenger traffic, followed by Amman (AMM) +11.5% and Muscat (MCT) +11.3%. Dubai (DXB), the largest hub in the Middle East, posted a negative growth rate of -0.8%

In terms of air freight, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East experienced decline of -2.1% and -0.7% respectively amid a weakened global economy and reduction in manufacturing activities. Among the major cargo hubs, Doha (DOH) +5.6% had the highest increase in volume, followed by Guangzhou (CAN) +5.0% and Manila (MNL) +11.0%.

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