KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): Global passenger traffic rose by over 6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2015, according to the Airports Council International (ACI).

In a statement yesterday, the ACI said passenger traffic rose 7% in March compared to a year earlier.  

It said international passenger traffic grew by 6.8% year-over-year whereas domestic traffic grew by 5.7% for the period from January to March 2015.

The ACI said while all regions reported gains in passenger traffic, most of the buoyant activity stemmed from the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions, with respective gains of 11.1% and 10% in passenger traffic for the month of March.

It explained that many of the busiest airports in the Asia-Pacific region posted double-digit growth for the first quarter.

It said that Shanghai, Incheon, Bangkok and New Delhi increased by 17.7%, 15.6%, 14.8% and 13% respectively.

“Abu Dhabi and Doha, two of the fastest growing airports in the Middle East, grew by 21.1% and 16.8% respectively.

“Much of the growth, particularly with respect to the Asia-Pacific region, stems from the remnants of leisure travel during the February Lunar New Year,” it said.

The ACI said air freight experienced more modest growth as volumes increased by 1.4% for the month of March, although the first quarter saw an overall increase of 4.7% year over year.

It said the slowed growth in March comes after the upsurge in February due to the Lunar New Year and the modal shift towards air transport resulting from congestion at sea ports along the western coast of the United States.

The ACI said growth rates across the globe were mixed for the month of March.