Global passenger growth increased 7.5 percent in 2017 compared to 2016, according to Airports Council International (ACI) World’s annual World Airport Traffic Report.
Last year’s growth rate was one of strongest on record with the world’s airports accommodating 8.27 billion passengers.
Passenger traffic in developing economies grew 10.3 percent. Sixteen of the 30 fastest-growing airports, with more than 15 million passengers, are located in China and India. Rising incomes in developing economies are forecasted to fuel growth in those markets.
Passenger traffic in developed economies increased 5.2 percent.
“Global passenger traffic has reached record levels as airports continued to make a crucial contribution to furthering economic development and global connectivity,” Angela Gittens, ACI World director general, said. “While strong competitive forces continue to drive innovation and improvements in efficiency and service for passengers, airports face the challenges of meeting the continuing global growth in demand for air services.”
Atlanta-Hartsfield-Jackson is the world’s busiest airport, handling slightly less than 104 million passengers last year.
Air cargo set a record in 2017, spiking 7.7 percent worldwide year-on-year, and aircraft movements grew 3 percent.
Last year, 118.6 million metric tons of cargo were moved, and there were 95.7 million aircraft movements.