(iStock)
Cape Town - Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has released its Aviation Barometer for the fourth quarter of 2017, showing a solid uptick in the number of passengers passing through the country's nine airport doors.
However, despite a growth in passenger numbers, overall air travel was strained in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the Airports Company South Africa’s quarterly Aviation Barometer.
The Barometer, which provides an indication of current air travel trends in South Africa, is based on the count of passengers using the network of nine airports owned and managed by ACSA. The Barometer compares arrivals and departures in the latest quarter with the same quarter of the previous year.
'Growth in passenger numbers was just over 3%'
According to the Barometer, nearly 11 million arriving and departing passengers used South Africa’s main airports in the fourth quarter, an increase of 321 000 over the fourth quarter of 2016. In addition to this, growth in passenger numbers was just over 3% in the fourth quarter of 2017.
"A highlight of the peak holiday season was the continued extraordinary growth in international passengers at Cape Town International Airport," says ACSA, adding that international arrivals went up by 13.85% and international departures experienced a 15.69% growth in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2016.
SEE: SA Travel Trends: Durban and Cape Town lead air passenger growth ahead of festive season
ACSA also reports that King Shaka International Airport continued to enjoy solid growth in domestic passenger traffic with arrivals up 5.63% and departures up 6.17% in the fourth quarter of 2017 while connectivity between King Shaka International and regional airports such as Mthatha‚ East London and Port Elizabeth also grew with the opening of new routes by smaller airlines.
The Durban's International Airport topped the 5.5 million-passenger mark last year, in a record year boosted by excellent domestic passenger growth and a consolidation in international numbers.
The milestone means the airport has increased passenger numbers by over a million since opening in May 2010.
SEE: King Shaka hits record 5.5m passengers as direct Durban-London route plans continue
ACSA confirmed "domestic air travel remained under strain", with an increase of 2.60% for arrivals and 2.76% for departures in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Passenger stats summary
Domestic
Domestic arrivals experienced an increase of 95 203 passengers, 2.60% increase from the previous year while departures also increased by 109 972 passengers, a 2.76% increase from the same period in 2017.
International
International arrivals increased by 3.80% to 1 568 230 passengers while departures rose by a 4.38% to 1 589 309 passengers.
Regional
Regionally, which includes Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia and Lesotho, arrivals are up by 1.70% to 147 132 passengers, as are departures by 1.20% to 141 186 passengers.
(Image: Acsa Aviation Barameter - click here for more info)
Plan your trip:
