Fashion
In January, passenger traffic across Asia-Pacific recorded a +4.4% increase whereas the Middle East reported a small reduction of -0.4% compared to the same period last year. This month’s traffic was largely distorted by the later timing of Chinese New Year (CNY) compared to last year, resulting in slower growth in many countries for the month.
India generated the highest growth rate in the Asia-Pacific region at approximately +15% in January, backed by robust domestic demand. India’s domestic sector has experienced a period of high growth since 2015 and continued to have strong momentum. Among the top 10 airports driving domestic passenger traffic volume in January seven came from India. Led by: Delhi (DEL) +12.6%, Bangalore (BLR) +19.8% and Hyderabad (HYD) +24.8%.
The shifting timing of CNY has resulted in China’s growth slowed to approximately +2% in January. The busiest airports in the country all reported small decline or marginal increase for the month: Beijing (PEK) -0.4%, Shanghai Pudong (PVG) +0.3%, Guangzhou (CAN) +0.7%. Passenger traffic is expected to rebound significantly for China in February 2018.
Elsewhere in the region, vibrant international passenger travels benefited a number of markets in driving volume increase for the month. Top runners were: Seoul Incheon (ICN) +8.2%, Kuala Lumpur (KUL) +4.9%, and Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK) +7.4%.
