ACI Sees Global Airline Passenger Traffic To Double By 2029

Manila Bulletin
May 8, 2012
By Edu Lopez

Airport Council International (ACI) has predicted that worldwide passenger traffic would double from 5 billion to 11 billion by 2029.

ACI director general Angele Gittens stressed that need for airports to continue to grow in order to cater to needs of the present and future generations.

She told a symposium on air transport that expansion is critical to economic facilitation worldwide and permission to grow is needed if our industry is to continue operating in benefit of communities worldwide.

To accommodate that growth, airports need better collaboration and cooperation from air transport stakeholders in industry, government, regulators and NGOs, said Gittens.

“Many airports are still viewed by regulators as simple providers of infrastructure, as they have not grasped the evolution of airports into diversified businesses and community partners.“

“In order for airports to provide social and economic benefits to communities, airports need permission to grown from local governments,“ said Gittens.

Government regulatory decisions must be structured in a way that enables airports to attract the interest of the private sector.

ACI's 2011 Economic Survey showed that some US$135 billion in capital expenditure are planned at airports worldwide between 2013 and 2016, excluding the current projects in the Middle East.

“An increasing number of countries are calling on the private sector for the development of aeronautical infrastructure, be it in the form of outright privatizations or public private partnerships,“ said Gittens.

“This necessarily implies the need for states to provide the right economic regulatory framework to allow airport companies to generate the type of financial returns required to attract private investors.“

On the aviation side, the industry needs to demonstrate environment stewardship and in keeping with this responsibility.

The industry has introduced its CO2 Roadmap and ACI has demonstrated its commitment with ACI Europe's Airport Carbon Accreditation Program.

Gittens said airports must also focus on local community issues such as noise, air quality, water, waste and land use if local government and communities are to provide permission to grow.

At the Sixth Aviation and Environment Summit last month in Geneva, the leaders of the industry -airports, airlines, air traffic control and manufacturers -have agreed to do their part to maintain and grow a vibrant, sustainable air transport industry.