International traffic rises

THE monthly ACI Flash freight reports for January 2008, show that the world’s airports posting a four per cent increase overall and international traffic rising by seven per cent, as compared to January 2007. Domestic traffic worldwide remained flat at one per cent, compared to January 2007.

Total freight handled worldwide in January 2008, rose by six per cent, compared to January 2007 with international freight up strongly by eight pr cent and domestic freight increasing by two per cent. “Soaring fuel prices continue to take their toll on shorter domestic routes where alternative transport exists, and in the US we are also seeing the effect of a weakening economy,” said ACI director of economics Andreas Schimm.

“In addition to solid growth of international traffic worldwide, there is a sharp seven per cent rise in the US international traffic, attributed to capacity shifts made by US carriers to more lucrative international routes and higher demand. Therefore US carriers saw the second consecutive monthly year-on-year domestic traffic decrease, as they continue to tackle low yields and high fuel prices by trimming domestic capacity.”