The numbers are out for 2015 from the Airport Council International. 2015 saw the strongest growth in passenger traffic since 2010 with an increase of 6.4% (7.2 billion passengers). It is anticipated 2016 will also have strong growth, however, it appears to have slowed a bit as uncertainty and safety concerns weigh heavily in the last quarter.
In 2015 there were 37 airports with over 40 million passengers passing through them. This is an increase of over 100% over a ten-year period. Some of this increase has to do with the entry of many low-cost carriers who have brought the airport’s new passengers and additional competition offering affordable options.
A significant amount of this growth is coming from the Asia-Pacific regions even despite the slowing economic growth in China. The number of new and expanded markets are continuing to grow with an ever growing mobile population. Additionally, India is poised to be one of the largest aviation markets in the world.
As we look forward, the airlines are most likely going to continue to take a precautionary position, keeping the number of new flights as minimal as possible and keeping the planes as full as they can. Without the geopolitical unrest and with an ever increasing market, it would be more certain that more flights would be added, but given the current climate, be prepared for full and over-full flights for the unforeseeable future.
The later part of 2016 has seen the increased traffic of 2015, and the beginning of 2016 erode. Paris has seen an 11 percent drop with a loss of 460 million Euros. Turkey has seen its tourist industry fall apart with an expected drop of at least 40% this year. This has opened up opportunities for those with a more adventurous soul with pricing hitting an all-time low. IT has also shifted travel to other regions such as Asia, Australia and New Zealand where the current exchange rate helps ease the costs and where people feel a bit safer to venture out.
This has opened up opportunities for those with a more adventurous soul with pricing hitting an all-time low. It has also shifted travel to other regions such as Asia, Australia and New Zealand where the current exchange rate helps ease the costs and where people feel a bit safer to venture out.
The key is to do your homework no matter where you travel. Make sure you have plans and alternate plans. Where we have not been a huge advocate of travel insurance, it needs to have a higher consideration now in places you may not have thought of before.
The desire to travel is still high as we talk with people all over the world, but smarter travel is the key to curing the travel itch these days. Our blog at www.travelingu.com/blog and travel tips at www.travelingu.com/travel-tips are great resources to help your adventures to be affordable and safe.
The world’s busiest domestic airports (measured by domestic passenger traffic):
- Atlanta GA, USA – ATL (90.3 million, up 5.7% over 2014)
- Beijing, China (People’s Republic of China) – PEK (71.3 million, up 3.0% over 2014)
- Chicago IL, USA – ORD (65.9 million, up 11.2% over 2014)
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