São Paulo – Passenger traffic in airports worldwide grew by 11% in April compared with the same month of last year, according to information disclosed this Friday (3rd) by the Airports Council International (ACI), which comprises airport management companies.
According to a statement issued by the ACI, the performance was driven by strong growth in aerospace traffic in Europe, because in the same period of 2010, aviation was interrupted in Europe due to the eruption of a volcano in Iceland.
“This increase is a very positive result, particularly in light of the current situation in Japan as well as in North Africa, and an erratic economic recovery,” said the ACI director of economics, Andreas Schimm, according to the statement, referring to the impact of the tsunami on the Asian country, the popular uprisings in the African continent and the difficult economic situation in some developed nations.
To the executive, the figures for April 2011 represent more than just a recovery from losses incurred in the same month of last year, because there was an increase of 12% compared with April 2009. “It is an indicator over and beyond the compensation for disruptive factors,” he stated.
He added that the Holy Week was one of the factors that contributed to the increase in air travel, because the traffic caused by the holiday occurred halfway through the month, whereas last year the traffic was divided between March and April.
According to the ACI, European airports recorded a 27% increase in traffic in April, compared with the same month of 2010. Other highlights included the increased number of passengers in Latin America and the Caribbean, by 15.2%, and the Middle East, by 10.7%, with outstanding performances from the airports of Dubai (13%) and Abu Dhabi (15%), both in the United Arab Emirates.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
