ACI Sees Robust 2004 For Airport Industry

ACI Sees Robust 2004 For Airport Industry
Airwise

March 22, 2004 


World airports are poised for a strong economic
performance in 2004 after seeing a two percent
increase in passengers and three percent in cargo last
year, the head of the industry's global body ACI said
Monday.

ACI, the Geneva-based Airports Council International
whose members include smaller domestic airfields as
well as big international hubs, hailed the 2003
figures as a good performance in difficult times for
the air travel trade.

"In tough market conditions, our members coped with
adversity and finished the year very strong," said ACI
Director General Robert Aaranson. "We believe the
industry is poised for a robust recovery in 2004."

The ACI figures contrasted with preliminary estimates
issued in late January by IATA, the world airline
body, which said passengers carried by its members on
international routes were down by 2.4 percent over
2002.

ACI spokesman Paul Behnke said the organization's own
numbers included passengers carried by low-cost
airlines, including those based in Europe and the
United States, who accounted for much of the increase.

Most budget airlines -- like Britain's easyJet and
Ireland's Ryanair -- are not members of IATA, which
does not include passengers they carry in its returns.

ACI said Europe, which accounted for just under one
third of all travellers passing through airports in
2003, saw an increase of 4.2 percent, while North
America, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of the
global total, was up only 0.6 percent.

ASIA HIT BY SARS

Asia, hit especially badly by an epidemic of SARS -- a
flu-like disease that killed around 800 people in the
first half of 2003 after spreading around the region
from China, even as far as Canada -- was down by one
percent.

Announcing its preliminary figures on January 27, IATA
-- the International Air Transport Association --
blamed the Iraq war, SARS, and the stuttering global
economy for last year's downturn among its airlines.

For IATA members, who include over 90 percent of
companies flying international routes, 2002 had seen
an improvement over the disaster year of 2001, when
air travel dropped sharply after the September 11
hijack attacks in the United States.

But like ACI's Aaranson, IATA has also voiced optimism
over the prospects for 2004, reporting a healthy
recovery at the end of last year which continued into
January, with passenger figures up nearly six percent.

ACI said the 2003 passenger total of 3.4 billion
brought traffic back to the levels of 2000, when the
global economy was still relatively healthy.

The world's busiest airport remained long-time
champion Atlanta in the United States which handled
just over 79 million passengers, up three percent on
2002. Atlanta is a major hub for US domestic as well
as trans-continental flights.

Second was Chicago's O'Hare, with just over 69
million, third was London's Heathrow, with nearly 63.5
million, and fourth Tokyo's Haneda with 63.2 million.


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