Source: ACI-LAC

  • This was announced during the region’s main airport event, which this year is being held in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The LAC region is expected to end 2024 with an air traffic volume of 773 million passengers, an increase of 5.5% over 2023 and 12.4% over 2019, the period prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. The forecast is that, this year, domestic traffic will grow by 14% and international traffic will grow by 6% over 2023. The information was presented this Monday, during the ACI-LAC Annual Assembly Conference & Exposition (ACI-LAC Annual Assembly Conference & Exposition), which will be held until tomorrow (12) in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The data presented also reports that, by 2024, air traffic in Latin America and the Caribbean will represent 8% of the global volume, which is expected to reach 9.5 billion passengers.

During the press conference this Monday, Rafael Echevarne, Director General of ACI-LAC, reinforced the importance of aviation in a region such as Latin America and the Caribbean, where there are countries with large territories and distinct and complex geographies. Echevarne stressed that, with the prospect of continued growth in air traffic in the region, it is essential to maintain investments in infrastructure and improve quality standards at airports.

“Given that traffic growth is expected in the coming years, we must be prepared to serve new passengers, improve airport infrastructure and build new ones. ACI-LAC is also working with ICAO to ensure that all of our member airports have infrastructure and safety certification, as well as working with local governments to achieve these goals.

The press conference also highlighted the important investments in technology that airports in the region have made, not only to facilitate travel, but also to improve the security of the entire airport operation. Mónika Infante, president of the ACI-LAC Board of Directors and CEO of AEODOM highlighted the need to plan these investments for the best use of resources and obtaining better results.

“The message is that there needs to be collaboration between the public sector and operators to ensure agile flows. Let’s follow the same path and we will always work so that passengers have the best experience.”

The General Director of Guadalajara International Airport, Martín Zazueta, reinforced the alignment of the airports that are part of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico with the work developed by ACI-LAC.

“From GAP’s airports we have developed a commitment to the continuous improvement of our services, not only to guarantee an exceptional experience to our passengers, but also to boost Mexico’s economic development. We work to equip our airports with optimal conditions that favor both commercial exchange and our strategic position as international air hubs, attracting airlines interested in investing in the country. The potential is enormous,” said Zazueta.

Commercial, environmental and operational challenges are the highlights of the first day of the congress’s academic agenda

The opening of the academic agenda of the ACI-LAC 2024 Annual Assembly and Conference was attended by Mónika Infante, president of the ACI-LAC Board of Directors, ACI World CEO Justin Erbacci, Rafael Echevarne, CEO of ACI-LAC, and Raúl Revuelta Musalen, CEO of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), host of the event.

At the opening panel of the conference, CEOs from major airports in the region shared their experiences on the challenges of growing air traffic and improving the passenger experience in their countries. Mónika Infante, CEO of AEODOM, Ricardo Gesse, CEO of Zurich Airport Brazil and Juan José Salmón, CEO of Lima Airport, highlighted the importance of collaboration between airports and airlines, investments in circular economy actions and the need for transparent dialogue with the public authorities to improve airport concessions.

Other panels held throughout the day covered topics such as new trends in air traffic control, including remote control towers; what the industry is already implementing and what is about to come into operation in the market in response to climate change, such as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) distribution and eVTOL operation; commercial revenue trends at airports, such as lounge and retail opportunities; and the outlook for air traffic liberalization in the region and the impacts on market growth.

Follow the full schedule of the event by clicking here.