Mexican airport groups ASA and GAP both saw passenger numbers drop by 13% in 2009 as the swine flu and economic downturn impacted demand.
ASA reported today that its nine airports in southeast Mexico collectively handled 15.5 million passengers in 2009. This represents a 13% decline compared to the 17.8 million passengers the Cancun-based group handled in 2008.
Earlier this week GAP reported that its 12 airports in central and western Mexico handled 19.3 million passengers in 2008. This also represents a 13% drop compared to the 22.3 million passengers the Guadalajara-based group handled in 2008.
All 12 airports in the GAP portfolio registered traffic declines in 2009, ranging from a 33% drop at Aguascalientes to a 1% drop at La Paz.
GAP's flagship airport, Guadalajara, saw its throughput drop 10% to 6.5 million passengers. Its second largest airport, Tijuana, saw its throughput drop 14% to 3.4 million passengers.
Cancun, which is by far the largest airport in the ASA portfolio, ended 2009 with 11.2 million passengers. In 2008 the airport handled 12.6 million passengers.
Mexico's third major airport group, Monterrey-based OMA, has not yet reported operational statistics for year-end 2009. Through the first 11 months of 2009, the 13 northern Mexico airports in OMA's portfolio collectively handled 10.6 million passengers. This represented a 19% drop compared to the 13 million passengers handled by OMA during the same period of 2008.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
