São Paulo – The São Paulo International Airport, in the municipality of Guarulhos, ranks among those that recorded the highest increase in passenger flow worldwide in the first half this year. According to data disclosed this Tuesday (3rd) by the Airports Council International (ACI), which brings together airport operators, traffic in Cumbica increased by over 20% during the period.
The performance was similar to those of airports of Kuala Lumpur, in Malaysia, Taipei, in Taiwan, Jakarta, in Indonesia, Shanghai, in China, and Moscow, in Russia. For reference purposes, air traffic worldwide grew by 6% in the first six months of 2010.
To the ACI, the first half also saw a resumption of movement in the wake of the international financial crisis. In this respect, the organization compared the current figures with the first six months of 2008, before the crisis had impacted strongly on the airport industry.
The Council, however, underscores that indicators in early 2010 were affected by the eruption of the volcano in Iceland, which caused traffic to be interrupted at several airports, especially in Europe.
In the comparison between 2010 and 2008, the Middle East led growth in passenger number, with growth of 18.4%. Passenger turnover in Latin America rose by 7%, a rate lower than those of the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. The three regions also posted the highest growth rates in comparison with the first half of 2009.
Both the crisis and the volcano’s eruption affected mainly the more mature markets of the United States and Europe, which have not yet returned to the levels recorded in the first half of 2008. Despite these external factors, the ACI claims that the strong growth of emerging destinations points to a “structural shift” in the industry. To the organization’s economic director, Andreas Schimm, “the shift was caused by strong growth in the domestic markets of China and Brazil.”
With regard to cargo transport, global turnover increased by over 20% in June, for the seventh consecutive month, according to the ACI. The highest rates of growth were recorded in the airports of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Miami and Incheon, in South Korea.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
