Aruba Airport Authority N.V. (AAA) is happy to report the AUA Airport’s passenger traffic performance for the year 2022; passenger flow numbers increased considerably in the last three quarters of the year showing excellent recovery rates versus the same period in 2019.
The total amount of revenue generating passengers (departing passengers) handled in 2022 was recorded at 1,207,587 which represents a recovery of 95% versus 2019. The departing passenger number in 2022 increased with 38% when comparing this to 2021.
Recovery per quarter in 2022
For each quarter in 2022 the passenger traffic numbers per market performed as follows; During the first quarter of 2022, 77% of departing passengers were recovered versus the year 2019. The remaining quarters of 2022 showed a recovery versus the same period in 2019 of respectively 101%, 102% and 103%.
Diversifying the US and NON-US markets further in 2022
Whilst the US Market represented a total of 81% of the total departing passengers in 2021, this decreased to 75% at the end of 2022. This is in line with the strategy set forth by AUA airport to diversify the markets served from and to AUA airport as much as possible. This resulted in an increase in the market share of the NON-US Market from 19% in 2021 to 25% in 2022.
New routes and additional frequencies 2022
In the year 2022 several airlines either started new operations to AUA Airport or amped up their frequencies. Airlines like Jet Air Caribbean and Arajet commenced operations with direct service out of Curacao and Santo Domingo with twice weekly service. Southwest started their new route with direct operations out of Orlando in the USA and Wingo commenced its successful operations out of Medellin Colombia and added frequencies to and from Bogota in Colombia. Sunclass Airlines restarted their operations out of Stockholm, and Air Canada restarted their operations out of Toronto Canada.
Flight departure and load factors 2022
The total amount of aircraft movements for 2022 stands at 11,597 which is 22% more than the amount of flight departures reported in 2021 and a recovery of 87% versus the number of movements in 2019 for departing flights. An average load factor of 85% was reported in 2019 and for 2022 an average load factor of 83% was reached.
Outlook 2023
For the year 2023 the AUA airport is expecting to receive approximately 13% more compared to 2022. The NON-US market share is expected to increase further in the year 2023 with new airlift opportunities being explored from those markets. A new route out of Europe with British Airways will be launched in March of 2023 and more new opportunities are being explored and developed stemming from the Latin American market. AUA Airport is confident that the year 2023 will be another successful year for the number of passengers and aircraft movements that will be handled.
