Airports Council International (ACI) in Geneva has released its full 2009 traffic report. Nearly 1.46 billion passengers arrived and departed from North American airports in 2009—a 5.9 percent decrease from the previous year. Cargo decreased by 11.3 percent while total operations also decreased by 8 percent.
“The economic downturn that plagued many industries in the past two years has not spared aviation. Airports, however, are optimistic about an increase in traffic as the economy begins to show signs of recovery,” said ACI-NA President Greg Principato.
“Industry forecasts indicate that, despite a sluggish recovery, demand for air travel will grow. There is still a critical need for airports to invest in infrastructure projects to meet future demand. The system nearly bogged down three years ago and current traffic is not far below that level. We know what the breaking point is and we must not wait to get to work.”
Click here to view the highlights.
Click here to view the final 2009 North American traffic summary data.