Monthly passenger movements reached a record high in December 2022 for Malaysia Airports’ operations in Malaysia with 6.8 million passengers. The year-end holiday season contributed to the significant 31% increase from the preceding month and enabled the group to reach 50% of 2019 levels for Malaysia operations.
Of the 6.8 million, 2.9 million were international passengers, the highest recorded to-date since the border reopening in April; and 3.9 million were domestic passengers, a 33% increase from November 2022.
Among the five international airports, Langkawi (LGK) and Kota Kinabalu (BKI) recorded the highest passenger increase at 51% and 39% respectively. Malaysia's passenger traffic growth was in tandem with the 10% increase recorded for total aircraft movements in December at 56,645 when compared to November.
For the whole year January to December 2022, Malaysia Airports recorded a total of 52.7 million passengers for its local network of airports. The annual growth in passenger movements was also supported by the introduction of new routes by 27 airlines to 38 cities.
Among the cities with the highest growth in 2022 over 2021 were Denpasar-Bali, Lahore, Ujung Padang, Male, Brisbane, Bangkok, Perth, Phuket, Batam and Bangalore. Overall, 59 airlines operated flights to 84 international and 35 domestic destinations last year, as compared to 48 airlines to 51 internationals and 32 domestic destinations in the preceding year.
U-Tapao Airport (UTP) is set to undergo a THB290 billion ($8.82 billion) investment under the Eastern Airport City masterplan, with work set to start later this year.
The public-private project will cover 1,040 hectares (2,570 acres) and is expected to generate 15,600 additional jobs in its first five years.
The investment plan will turn U-Tapao into an international airport and will also include a cargo free-trade zone, aviation training center and MRO facilities. It is expected that U-Tapao will be able to handle 60 million-75 million passengers annually over a three-phased project.
Eastern Airport City is part of Thailand’s greater Eastern Economic Corridor, a plan initiated by the Thai government in 2017 to develop eastern Thailand for tourism and economy activities. Located 140 km (87 mi.) south of Bangkok and next to the Gulf of Thailand, U-Tapao markets itself as the gateway to the popular Pattaya Beach tourist area.
Passenger volumes at Berlin Brandenburg (BER) in Germany almost doubled last year compared with 2021. The airport recorded 19.85 million passengers in 2022, against the prior-year figure of 9.95 million.
Aircraft movements at the airport were significantly higher last year, with 164,293 planes taking off and landing compared with 105,740 in 2021. Aircraft capacity utilization surged by nearly 80% over the year. CEO Aletta von Massenbach said: “Double the passenger numbers compared to the previous year shows that BER is being well-received.”
Since the turn of the year, Eurowings has unveiled 13 new routes for the summer 2023 season from the airport, scheduling service to Alicante, Antalya, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Graz, Helsinki, Ibiza, Larnaca, Malaga, Nice, Porto, Rhodes and Zakynthos. In total, the LCC will fly to 30 destinations during the season.
Other developments at Berlin in recent weeks include the opening of easyJet’s four-bay MRO hangar. The 10,000-sq-m hangar is the LCC's first continental maintenance facility and will service its Austrian-registered fleet of 135 aircraft.
Tokyo Narita (NRT) has been accredited under the ACI World Public Health & Safety Readiness program, becoming the first airport in the Asia-Pacific region to do so and the fifth worldwide.
The initiative evaluates the alignment of airports' public health and safety measures with ACI guidance and industry best practices, as well as recommendations from the ICAO Council's Aviation Recovery Taskforce.
The accreditation comes as traffic continues to recover at the Japanese airport in line with the relaxation of travel restrictions. NRT reported 15.4 million passengers in 2022, up by 194% on the previous 12 months. International traffic surged 377% to 9 million during the period.
New routes launched to Tokyo Narita in recent weeks include Greater Bay Airlines’ service from Hong Kong (HKG) and Air Premier flights from Seoul Incheon (ICN). In January, Jetstar Japan also resumed its Taiwan Taoyuan (TPE) route and Philippines AirAsia commenced flights from Manila (MNL).
BER
Airports operated by Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) handled about 99 million passengers during 2022, up by 122% year-on-year. Approximately 12 million passengers traveled on international flights, while 87 million flew on domestic routes.
During 2023, the company’s targets include putting a framework in place for the development of the terminal, runways and taxiways at the new Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai, as well as initiating construction of the third terminal at Ho Chi Minh City (SGN).
In the short and medium terms, ACV expects its average annual passenger growth rate will be about 11%-13% per year up to 2025, while cargo will be 12%-15% per year. Average aircraft movements are also expected to rise by 10%-12% over the same time period.
“Our main goal at Routes Asia 2023 is to facilitate conversations that will drive recovery and future growth for Asia’s route networks,” the company said.