Corporación América Airports S.A. one of the leading private airport operators in the world, reported this week a 15.7% year-on-year increase in passenger traffic in September 2023, reaching 98.9% of September 2019 levels.
Passenger Traffic Overview
Total passenger traffic grew 15.7% compared to the same month of 2022, supported by the ongoing recovery in travel demand after the Covid-19 pandemic and the gradual resumption of routes and frequencies across all countries of operations. Overall passenger traffic reached 98.9% of September 2019 levels, substantially in line with the 98.7% posted in August, with international passenger traffic surpassing pre-pandemic levels of September 2019 by 4.9%. Domestic traffic stood at 96.6% of September 2019, in line with 96.3% in August.
In Argentina, total passenger traffic continued to recover in September, increasing by 20.4% year-over-year (YoY) and surpassing pre-pandemic volumes by 2.1%. Domestic traffic was 7.5% higher than the levels in September 2019, while international passenger traffic also continued to recover, reaching 90.7% of pre-pandemic levels, up from the 87.0% recorded in August.
In Italy, passenger traffic grew by 18.2% compared to the same month in 2022 and surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the third consecutive month, increasing by 1.6% compared to September 2019, down from the 4.1% recorded in August when traffic benefited from the summer season. International passenger traffic, which accounted for 80% of the total traffic, was in line with September 2019 levels, while domestic passenger traffic surpassed pre-pandemic levels by 7.8%. Although some pre-pandemic destinations still need to resume at Pisa airport, Florence airport has already exceeded 2019 levels and was 10.4% above September 2019 traffic volumes.
In Brazil, total passenger traffic decreased slightly by 0.1% YoY, reaching 92.9% of September 2019 levels. This decline is down from the 101.4% recorded in August. Domestic traffic, which accounted for almost two-thirds of the total traffic, reached 95.6% of pre-pandemic levels, while transit passengers stood at 87.5% of September 2019 levels, a slight decrease from the 88.9% recorded in August.
In Uruguay, total passenger traffic, which is largely international, continued to recover and increased 31.3% YoY, reaching 94.5% of September 2019 levels, up from 91.3% recorded in August.
In Ecuador, passenger traffic increased 5.7% YoY and surpassed pre-pandemic volumes by 20.8%. Both domestic and international passenger traffic exceeded pre-pandemic levels by 25.7% and 15.7%, respectively. The comparison with pre-pandemic benefited from the airport’s closure during three weekends of September 2019.
In Armenia, passenger traffic continued its solid recovery trend, increasing by 34.2% YoY and surpassing the pre-pandemic levels of September 2019 by 62.7%.
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Passenger Traffic, Cargo Volume and Aircraft Movements Highlights (2023 vs. 2022) | | | | |
Statistics | Sep'23 | Sep'22 | % Var. | | YTD’23 | YTD'22 | % Var. |
Domestic Passengers (thousands) | 3,844 | 3,226 | 19.2% | | 33,856 | 27,465 | 23.3% |
International Passengers (thousands) | 2,612 | 2,180 | 19.8% | | 21,273 | 15,347 | 38.6% |
Transit Passengers (thousands) | 585 | 680 | -14.0% | | 5,298 | 4,445 | 19.2% |
Total Passengers (thousands) | 7,042 | 6,085 | 15.7% | | 60,426 | 47,257 | 27.9% |
Cargo Volume (thousand tons) | 30.9 | 29.0 | 6.7% | | 268.6 | 250.6 | 7.2% |
Total Aircraft Movements (thousands) | 71.9 | 65.2 | 10.3% | | 639.9 | 537.8 | 19.0% |
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Passenger Traffic, Cargo Volume and Aircraft Movements Highlights (2023 vs. 2019) | | | | |
Statistics | Sep'23 | Sep'19 | % Var. | | YTD’23 | YTD'19(1)(2) | % Var. |
Domestic Passengers (thousands) | 3,844 | 3,979 | -3.4% | | 33,856 | 35,463 | -4.5% |
International Passengers (thousands) | 2,612 | 2,490 | 4.9% | | 21,273 | 21,590 | -1.5% |
Transit Passengers (thousands) | 585 | 652 | -10.3% | | 5,298 | 6,198 | -14.5% |
Total Passengers (thousands) | 7,042 | 7,122 | -1.1% | | 60,426 | 63,251 | -4.5% |
Cargo Volume (thousand tons) | 30.9 | 31.9 | -3.0% | | 268.6 | 310.1 | -13.4% |
Total Aircraft Movements (thousands) | 71.9 | 71.0 | 1.3% | | 639.9 | 645.3 | -0.8% |
(1) | | Note that preliminary passenger traffic figures for 2019, as well as January 2020 for Ezeiza Airport, in Argentina, were adjusted to include additional inbound passengers not accounted for in the initial count, for an average of approximately 5% of total passenger traffic at Ezeiza Airport and 1% of total traffic at CAAP, during that period. Importantly, inbound traffic does not affect revenues, as tariffs are applicable on departure passengers. |
(2) | | Cargo volumes in Uruguay were rectified from January 2019 to June 2020, to reflect all cargo passing through the cargo terminal, instead of air cargo only. |
