• 
• 

Published on January 10, 2008

Air traffic in Asia-Pacific from 2008 to 2011 will grow by 5.9 per cent a year, adding more than 300 million passengers over the four years, while globally, international air-passenger traffic will rise 5.1 per cent a year, said Albert Tjoeng, IATA's manager for corporate communications in Asia-Pacific.

Airports in Asia need to continue planning and investing in additional capacity

in order to keep pace with expected traffic growth, and ensure that the capacity is efficiently utilised, the association said.

Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur airport is looking at building a new low-cost terminal, Tjoeng said, while Singapore's

third terminal has just opened to handle the anticipated growth.

Hong Kong has prepared to serve higher demand by opening its second terminal last year, while Ho Chi Minh Airport in Vietnam's southern region added a new terminal in December.

In China, Beijing's third terminal is scheduled to open this year and the country is planning to build 50 airports through the mainland.

Incheon Airport in South Korea will welcome a new midfield terminal this year.

Airports in Delhi and Bombay, along with Suvarnabhumi, are examples of where additional capacity

is urgently needed, Tjoeng said.

IATA reported that global traffic results for January-November were up 9.3 per cent year on year. It was also the fastest growth rate recorded in 18 months.

Passenger demand results were strong across most regions. Asia-Pacific (8.8 per cent), North America (7.6 per cent) and Europe (7.6 per cent) all saw robust growth in November, with no sign yet of any weakening in demand as a result of economic uncertainty.

However, freight growth continues to be sluggish, reflecting strong competition with sea shipping and uncertainty over the economic outlook for this year.

Demand growth for international freight slowed to 3.5 per cent in November, from 3.6 per cent in October.

 Suchat Sritama

 The Nation