QAIA continues to head Jordan's growth

Airport International Group (AIG), an International consortium of investors charged with the expansion, rehabilitation and operation of QAIA reported that passenger traffic over the last year reached 4,770,000 passengers, a 6.5% increase over the previous year.

In addition, the third quarter of 2009 proved to be a record-breaking period for QAIA as, for the first time in the airport’s history, the months of July and August recorded more than 500,000 passengers each, representing a 10% year-over-year increase. 

Aircraft movements for 2009 were even stronger, closing the year with 57,766 aircraft — a 12.6% increase over the year previous.

Commenting on the results, AIG’s chief executive Curtis Grad said: “Despite the fact that 2009 was not an ideal time for the aviation and tourism industries, particularly with the global economic downturn and the H1N1 pandemic, the year marks an important milestone in QAIA’s development as an emerging regional niche hub. These results demonstrate the resilience of the Jordanian market and the effectiveness of the strategies implemented by AIG toward making QAIA a preferred regional hub.”

The introduction of new routes and new airline operators at QAIA has significantly contributed to the positive increase in passenger and aircraft movement traffic. The last year saw several airlines announcing new or additional flights to and from QAIA including Royal Jordanian, Austrian Airlines, Malev, Fly Dubai, Bahrain Air, Watanya and Emirates. The airport’s charter operators also contributed important traffic volumes to QAIA, which included Hamburg International, Air Mediterranee, Blue Panorama and Neosair.

The rehabilitation and expansion works at QAIA are well underway with the new passenger terminal extending over 100,000 square meters. AIG, under the terms of a 25 year concession agreement with the Jordanian government, is responsible for the operation of the airport, the rehabilitation of existing facilities and the construction of the new terminal.

AIG is a Jordanian company with private shareholding by Invest AD Company (UAE), Noor Financial Investment Company (Kuwait), Edgo Group (Jordan), Joannou & Paraskevaides (Overseas) Limited (Cyprus), J&P-Avax (Greece) and Aéroports de Paris Management (France).