Good increases in passenger numbers at Acsa’s airports last year

24th February 2017

By: Keith Campbell

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) had a record year last year in terms of the numbers of passengers who passed through its airports. This was revealed when it published its latest ‘Aviation Barometer’ report. This is the fourth edition of the report, which is compiled from official ACSA statistics. The numbers of passengers that used its nine airports last year came to 39.7-million, an increase of 5.4% on the figure for 2015.

The company’s three major airports all hit new levels of use. King Shaka International Airport, serving Durban, saw the greatest increase, at 8.45% over 2015, exceeding five-million passengers last year. Cape Town International Airport experienced growth of 7.3%, reaching ten-million passengers. OR Tambo International Airport, serving Johannesburg, had a 3.8% increase, handling more than 20-million passengers.

The report divided air travel into three categories: domestic, regional and international. ‘Domestic’ refers to flights within South Africa, while regional flights cover flights to and from Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. International flights cover all other flights across South Africa’s borders.

Domestic travel through ACSA’s airports saw a 5.3% increase last year, compared with 2015. Oddly enough, while domestic arrivals totalled 13.6-million people, domestic departures totalled 13.7-million. Regional travel enjoyed a 6% increase in arrivals, totalling 567 254 passengers, while departures totalled 565 702, or an increase of 6.4%. International arrivals saw a 5.3% rise, to 5.4-million people, and international departures were up by 5.8% to 5.5-million.

The report also compared the last quarter of last year with the last quarter of 2015. “Domestic traffic growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 slowed down, with arrivals only increasing by 1.4% and departures going up by a marginal 1.2%, compared with the same period in 2015,” it stated. “The strongest driver of passenger growth in the final quarter was international departures, which saw a growth of 7.5% and international arrivals [recording a] 7.1% increase. “This was also due to the summer holidays, which is traditionally one of the busiest travel seasons in South Africa.”

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egionally, quarter-on-quarter arrivals were up by 1.1% and departures by 1.3%. Total arrivals – domestic, regional and international – rose by 2.8% and total departures by 2.9%.

The report also gives figures for each month of the last quarters of 2016, 2015 and 2014. Thus, international passenger arrivals totalled 451 000 in October 2014, 479 000 in October 2015 and 510 000 in October 2016. For November, the figures were 424 000 (2014), 437 000 (2015) and 457 000 (2016), and, for December, they were 482 000, 494 000 and 542 000 respectively. The figures for international departures were: October 2014, 420 000; October 2015, 445 000; October 2016, 475 000; for November, 437 000, 448 000 and 480 000 respectively; and for December, 509 000, 523 000 and 566 000 respectively.

Regarding regional arrivals, in October 2014, these totalled 51 000, remaining the same a year later and then rising slightly to 52 000 in October 2016. For November 2014, 2015 and 2016, the numbers were 48 000, 50 000 and 48 000 respectively. For December, the respective numbers were 39 000, 43 000 and 44 000. Concerning regional departures, the three consecutive Octobers have figures of 50 000, 49 000 and 52 000 respectively, while those for the November months were 46 000, 48 000 and 46 000 respectively. December 2014 saw 35 000 regional departures, December 2015 40 000 and December 2016 also 40 000.

Domestic figures were, of course, much higher. In terms of arrivals, October 2014 saw 1 094 000, October 2015 saw 1 197 000 and October 2016 saw 1 244 000. The respective figures for November were 1 020 000, 1 171 000 and 1 155 000. The December numbers were 1 073 000, 1 237 000 and 1 258 000. Regarding departures, October 2014 saw 1 095 000, October 2015 saw 1 201 000 and October 2016 saw 1 246 000. During the respective Novembers, these figures were 1 023 000, 1 174 000 and 1 157 000. For the three Decembers, they were 1 069 000, 1 239 000 and 1 253 000.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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