Beijing was the busiest airport in the region in 2012, handling more than 82 million passengers. Second busiest was Tokyo Haneda, with 68 million passengers, followed by Jakarta and Hong Kong with around 57 million passengers each and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi with 51.
Many airports in the region have recorded double-digit growth rates in the 2012 passenger traffic due to the robust economic growth in their own countries and the rising propensity to travel in the region.
These airports include Jakarta (14.4 per cent), Dubai (13.2 per cent), Bangkok (10.6 per cent), Singapore (10.0 per cent) and Seoul Incheon (11.3 per cent).
Single month passenger traffic in December 2012 for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East regions was 8.1 per cent and 11.8 per cent higher than in December 2011, respectively.
ACI Asia Pacific Regional Director Patti Chau, said, “The positive results of 2012 confirmed the 2012 to 2031 forecast recently published by ACI that the Asia Pacific region will grow at a steady 6 to 7 per cent in passenger traffic terms until 2031.
“The report also forecast global passenger traffic to grow at 4.1 per cent a year over the next 20 years and Asia Pacific will become the largest aviation market in the world.
“In 2012, we are happy to see, according to the current statistics, that Beijing has surpassed the 81 million mark in passenger traffic and is the second-busiest airport in the world [after Atlanta, Georgia, in the US].
– Asia Travel Tips