"World airports chief sees a robust 2004"

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

World airports chief sees a robust 2004


GENEVA (Reuters) - World airports are poised for a strong economic
performance in 2004 after seeing a 2% increase in passengers and 3% in cargo
last year, the head of the industry's global body ACI said on Monday.

ACI, the Geneva-based Airports Council International whose members include
smaller domestic airfields as well as big international hubs terminals,
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% 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 travelers
passing through airports in 2003, saw an increase of 4.2%, while North
America, which accounts for nearly 40% of the global total, was up only
0.6%.

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 last year 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% 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 6%.

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 3% on 2002.
Atlanta is a major hub for U.S. domestic as well as transcontinental
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 Hanada with 63.2
million.


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