1.46 Billion Passengers Move Through Airports; Cargo Declines 11 Percent

According to recent data released by Airports Council International (ACI), based in Geneva, nearly 1.46 billion passengers arrived and departed from North American airports in 2009, a 5.9 percent decrease from the previous year. Cargo decreased by 11.3 percent while total operations also decreased by 8 percent.
 
"The economic downturn that plagued many industries in the past two years has not spared aviation. Airports, however, are optimistic about an increase in traffic as the economy begins to show signs of recovery," said ACI-NA President Greg Principato. "Industry forecasts indicate that, despite a sluggish recovery, demand for air travel will grow. There is still a critical need for airports to invest in infrastructure projects to meet future demand. The system nearly bogged down three years ago and current traffic is not far below that level. We know what the breaking point is and we must not wait to get to work."

The busiest airports kept their positions at the top. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport was the busiest with more than 88 million passengers, followed by Los Angeles International Airport (56.5 million), and Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (56 million).
 
Memphis International Airport remained the largest cargo airport in North America, handling about 3.7 million metric tons, which is unchanged from last year's totals. Anchorage International Airport ranked second in North America with a 15 percent decrease in its cargo movements to nearly 2 million metric tons.
 
Atlanta continues to top the charts as the airport with the highest number of total operations in North America with a total of 970,235 movements, a 0.8 percent decrease. Chicago ranked second, posting a 6.1 percent decrease in operations at 827,899 movements. Ranking third, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport reported 638,782 movements, a decrease of 2.7 percent.
 
Canada's most robust airport, once again, is Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport, ranked 19th in North America for passengers with 30.4 million, a decrease of 6.1 percent from 2008. It ranked 13 in total cargo with 439,130 metric tons, a 9.1 percent decrease, and 15 in total movements with 407,352, a decrease of 5.4 percent.

FMI: www.aci-na.org