Record-breaking 2007 for Kuwait International Airport
Record-breaking 2007 for Kuwait International Airport | ||
Statistics for 2007 show both passenger numbers and commercial flights up by 14% over 2006, while airfreight rose by 6%. The growth is being driven by a sizeable number of airlines expanding operations to and from KIA and is a demonstration of the diversity of air transport services available to passengers and shippers in Kuwait. Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) launched flights to Hyderabad and restarted service to Casablanca and Malaga, in addition to increasing frequencies to Ahmedabad, Kuala Lumpur, Assiut, Cochin, Dhaka, Manila and Geneva. Jazeera Airways launched new routes to Muscat, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tehran, Shiraz, Jeddah, Larnaca and the Maldives and increased services on its Dubai, Bahrain, Mumbai, Cochin, Delhi, Alexandria, Luxor, Assiut, Beirut, Amman and Mashad sectors. Alexandria Airlines and Tunisair also launched services to Kuwait in 2007, while other airlines increased frequencies including Gulf Air, Emirates, Etihad Airways, DHL Worldwide Express, Saudi Arabian Airlines, United Airlines, Iran Air, Egyptair, Middle East Airlines, Indian Airlines and Srilankan Airlines. Total passengers handled at KIA during 2007 reached 6,909,778 compared with 6,053,094 in 2006 – an annual increase of 14%. Departures were up by 14% to 3,416,727 compared with 2,984,428 in 2006. Arrivals amounted to 3,493,051 as against 3,068,666 for 2006, again an increase of 14%. Passenger traffic by region: Gulf sectors accounted for 36%, Asian sectors 28% and Arab sectors 25%. The remaining 11% was comprised of European and USA sectors. Aircraft movements also increased in 2007. The number of commercial arrivals and departures rose 14% to reach 57,004 movements (compared with 50,213 in 2006) accounting for 68% of total aircraft traffic at KIA. There were also 26,557 non-commercial operations (up 23% on 2006) giving an annual total of 83,561 movements (up 17% on 2006), or an average of 229 flights a day. Air cargo volumes rose too, with total import and export freight reaching 176,139,854 kg – 6% up on the 166,291,973 kg recorded in 2006. Imports increased 7% to 130,612,304 kg compared with 122,486,047 kg in 2006. Exports rose 4% hitting 45,527,550 kg against 43,805,926 kg in 2006. Kuwait Airways accounted for the lion's share of KIA's passenger traffic in 2007, with 40% of the total. The airline carried 2,763,140 passengers, an increase of 8% over 2006. Arrivals totalled 1,423,989 passengers and departures 1,339,151. KAC's operations accounted for 31% of total aircraft movements with 8,862 departures and 8,864 arrivals, up 3% on 2006. On the air cargo side, KAC handled 81,745,241 kg amounting to 46% of KIA's total freight volumes – the same level achieved in 2006.Jazeera Airways accounted for 14% of KIA's passenger traffic in 2007, handling 937,577 passengers – an increase of 57% on 2006. Departures totalled 476,468 and arrivals 461,109. Jazeera accounted for 15% of total aircraft movements at KIA with 4,150 departures and 4,149 arrivals, an increase of 46% on 2006. Total freight uplifted on Jazeera Airways' flights was 34,437 kg. | ||
