Airport Passenger Traffic in North America Grows 0.8 Percent in 2006

CONTACT:
Eileen Denne, edenne@aci-na.aero (202) 293-4537
Megan Miller, mmiller@aci-na.org, (202) 861-8080

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Airport Passenger Traffic in North America Grows 0.8 Percent in 2006
1.53 billion passengers move through airports; total movement declines by 2.3 percent

Washington, D.C. (August 3, 2007) - More than 1.53 billion passengers* traveled through North American airports in 2006, an increase of 0.8 percent, Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) announced today. Cargo also increased slightly by 0.6 percent while total operations declined by 2.3 percent.

"This increase in passengers reflects a trend that will certainly carry on in the future," said ACI-NA President Greg Principato. "The newest data indicates what we have known for awhile: that increasing investment in airport infrastructure is vital to adding necessary capacity and upgrading facilities."

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport retained the number one worldwide ranking for passenger traffic, counting 84.8 million passengers in 2006, a 1.2 percent decrease over 2005. Atlanta was followed by Chicago O'Hare International Airport (77.0 million) and Los Angeles International Airport (61.0 million).

Memphis International Airport remained the busiest cargo airport in the world, handling nearly 3.7 million metric tons - an increase of 2.6 percent over its final 2005 numbers.

Atlanta remained as the airport with the greatest number of total operations worldwide with a yearly total of 976,447 movements, a decrease of 0.4 percent from 2005. Chicago posted a 1.4 percent decrease in operation at 958,643 movements. Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport ranked third with 699,773 operations, a decrease of 1.7 percent.

Canada's busiest airport is Toronto's Lester B. Pearson International Airport, ranking 17th in North America for passengers (30.97 million), 15th in total cargo (505,000 metric tons) and 15th in total movements (417,921).

The ACI-NA 2006 Traffic Report contains passenger, freight/mail and aircraft operations data for 179 North American airport members. Total passengers represent the sum of passengers enplaned and deplaned in all commercial services but not passengers who travel in business or general aviation modes of transportation. Total freight/mail figures represent the sum of the total freight and mail, both loaded and unloaded, at the reporting airport. Total aircraft operations reflect the sum total of all domestic commercial, international commercial, commuter, general aviation and military operations. The final 2006 North American traffic summary data is available on ACI-NA's Web site.

*Passenger traffic is defined as the aggregate total of arriving (deplanement) and departing (enplanement) passengers. Transfer passengers are only counted once.

About ACI-NA:
The mission of Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA) is to advocate policies and provide services that strengthen the ability of air carrier airports to serve their passengers, customers and communities. ACI-NA represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Nearly 400 aviation-related businesses are also members of the association, which is the largest of the five worldwide regions of Airports Council International.