Airport International Group (AIG) - the Jordanian company responsible for the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) - has reported robust traffic trends in both October and November last year.

Registering a 14.1 per cent increase in passenger traffic, October brought the total number of passengers handled at QAIA to 600,855 compared to 526,584 during the same month in 2012, said a statement from AIG.

The year-to-date (YTD) passenger numbers also rose by 4.05 per cent to hit 5.5 million passengers in comparison to 5.35 million the previous year. Likewise, aircraft movements jumped by 6.26 per cent to 6,078 as opposed to the 5,720 recorded during the same month last year.

The YTD aircraft movements went up by a marginal 0.83 per cent, counting 57,252 in comparison to 56,783 over the same period in 2012.

In turn, QAIA experienced a slight 0.3 per cent lull in passenger numbers this November, which settled at 453,444 compared to 454,984 during 2012. On a positive note, YTD passengers rose by 3.7 per cent to 6.02 million in 2013 compared to 5.8 million the year before.

The month also counted 5,252 aircraft movements, an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to 5,242 of the same month in 2012. YTD aircraft movements marked a 0.8 per cent increase from 62,025 in 2012 to 62,504 in 2013.
 
“Driving October 2013’s results was the concentration of from/to traffic for the Hajj pilgrimage and Eid Al Adha holiday into a single month, whereas in the previous year it had been distributed across two months,” remarked Kjeld Binger, the chief executive of the AIG.

“In order to cater to QAIA passenger demand during the season, RJ and a number of other airlines collaborated to operate a total of 80 extra flights, while Jordanian carriers alone operated an additional 50 charter flights,” he stated.

Commenting on November’s results, Binger said, "November fell between two of the busiest times of the year, with Hajj and Eid Al Adha on one hand, and Christmas and New Year on the other."

"With that in mind, it’s customary for traffic to slow down during this time, however we’re pleased to see that overall traffic continued to organically grow within this period," he added.-TradeArabia News Service