Published quarterly by Airports Company South Africa, the Aviation Barometer provides an indication of current air travel trends in South Africa. The Barometer is based on the count of passengers using the network of nine airports owned and managed by the company in South Africa. The Barometer compares arrivals and departures in the latest quarter with the same quarter of the previous year.
Key Findings:
- Growth in passenger numbers at the nine airports was just over 3% in the fourth quarter of 2017;
- Nearly 11 million arriving and departing passengers used South Africa’s main airports in the fourth quarter, an increase of 321 000 over the fourth quarter of 2016;
- A highlight of the peak holiday season was the continued extraordinary growth in international passengers at Cape Town International Airport. International arrivals went up by 13.85% and international departures experienced a 15.69% growth in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2016;
- King Shaka International Airport continued to enjoy solid growth in domestic passenger traffic with arrivals up 5.63% and departures up 6.17% in the fourth quarter of 2017;
- Connectivity between King Shaka International and regional airports such as Mthatha, East London and Port Elizabeth also grew with the opening of new routes by smaller airlines;
- Overall, domestic air travel remained under strain, with an increase of 2.60% for arrivals and 2.76% for departures in the fourth quarter of 2017.
