QAIA achieves positive traffic growth in October and November 2013

Airport International Group (AIG) – the Jordanian company responsible for the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) – reported robust traffic trends in both October and November 2013.

Registering a 14.1% increase in passenger traffic (PAX), October 2013 brought the total number of passengers handled at QAIA to 600,855 PAX compared to 526,584 PAX during the same month in 2012. Year-to-date (YTD) passenger numbers also rose by 4.05% to reach 5,570,634 PAX in comparison to 5,353,776 PAX in October 2012. Likewise, aircraft movements (ACM) jumped by 6.26% to 6,078 ACM as opposed to the 5,720 ACM recorded during the same month last year. YTD ACM went up by a marginal 0.83%, counting 57,252 ACM in comparison to 56,783 ACM over the same period in 2012.

In turn, QAIA experienced a slight 0.3% lull in PAX this November, which settled at 453,444 PAX compared to 454,984 PAX during 2012. On a positive note, YTD PAX rose by 3.7% to 6,024,078 PAX compared to 5,808,760 PAX last year. The month also counted 5,252 ACM, an increase of 0.2% compared to 5,242 ACM of the same month in 2012. YTD ACM marked a 0.8% increase from 62,025 ACM in 2012 to 62,504 ACM in 2013.

“Driving October 2013’s results was the concentration of from/to traffic for the Hajj pilgrimage and Eid Al Adha holiday into a single month, whereas in the previous year it had been distributed across two months,” said Kjeld Binger, CEO of AIG. “In order to cater to QAIA passenger demand during the season, RJ and a number of other airlines collaborated to operate a total of 80 extra flights, while Jordanian carriers alone operated an additional 50 charter flights.”

Commenting on November’s results, Binger said, “November fell between two of the busiest times of the year, with Hajj and Eid Al Adha on one hand, and Christmas and New Year on the other. With that in mind, it’s customary for traffic to slow down during this time, however we’re pleased to see that overall traffic continued to organically grow within this period.”