KUALA LUMPUR (May 31): An overall strengthening of global economic conditions and the continued drop in the cost of air transport through lower fares has helped bolster air transport demand in the first quarter of 2017, according to Airports Council International (ACI).

In a statement yesterday, ACI said accumulated passenger traffic grew 5.6% year-over-year for the first quarter and for the month of March.

It said while all regions posted solid gains during the first quarter of 2017, Asia-Pacific stood out in terms of its overall increase in domestic traffic.

It said the region as a whole saw growth of 8.7% year-over-year for the first quarter of 2017.

“Air transport demand across Chinese airports remained robust.

“Besides strong first quarter gains at Beijing (PEK; 6.8%) and Shanghai (PVG; 7.6%)—two of the country’s largest airports—Guangzhou (CAN), Chengdu (CTU) and Kunming (KMG), major airports serving the Chinese domestic  market, saw passenger traffic jump 12.2%, 10.5% and 14.5% respectively,” it said.

ACI said many Indian airports also experienced double digit gains in passenger traffic.

It said Delhi (DEL), the country’s major hub, saw traffic increase 15.8% for the first quarter of 2017.

Meanwhile, European airports continued to maintain a strong recovery on major routes from Asia to Europe despite terrorist attacks in the region during 2016.

ACI said that on the whole, European airports posted a gain of 7.1% during the first quarter of 2017.