QAIA Records 2.6% Increase in Passenger Traffic for January 2013

Amman, 24 February 2013 - AIG has announced continued growth in year-to-date passenger volume (PAX) and aircraft movement (ACM) for January 2013.

Passenger traffic reached 475,069 PAX, a 2.6% increase over the 463,228 PAX recorded during January last year. Meanwhile, ACM rose by over 3% to 5,269 ACM compared to January 2012's 5,115 ACM. Cargo traffic registered consistent performance at 6,831 tons, up by a marginal 0.03 tons compared to records for the same period in 2012.

Annual traffic had hit an all-time high at the end of 2012 when QAIA recorded a total of 6,250,048 PAX, a 14.3% increase over the annual total of 2011 and a difference of 782,322 passengers. While passenger traffic has well exceeded the airport's original capacity of 3.5 million annual passengers for the last four years, the rapidly approaching launch of the new terminal will immediately eliminate QAIA's current capacity constrictions, initially catapulting the airport capacity to more than 7 million passengers. When the existing terminal is demolished and the piers expanded, the capacity will be 9 million annual passengers, and later expansions of the piers will take capacity up to 12 million annual passengers.

"QAIA's continued traffic growth is a positive indicator of the airport's expected performance in 2013, and underscores the necessity of the new state-of-the-art terminal in accommodating the projected increase in passenger and flight numbers," said AIG CEO Kjeld Binger. "QAIA is poised to become a niche transit hub in the region, adding great value to Jordan's economic development and fulfilling His Majesty's vision for the airport. The figures recorded for January 2013 represent a promising start to what we hope will be a milestone year for both QAIA and the Kingdom overall."

AIG is investing an estimated USD 750 million in the construction of the landmark new terminal, slated to open in March this year following a one-time, overnight operational transfer from the old facilities. The terminal will serve as a source of pride and prosperity for all Jordanians, and boasts vastly improved infrastructure, a larger check-in area, clearly marked signage and flight information monitors, comfortable seating, a larger duty-free area, and a wider variety of food and beverage outlets, among many other greatly enhanced features.

AIG has also spent an additional USD 100 million on rehabilitating and improving the existing terminals to enable the airport to handle the continuous growth in passenger traffic.

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