Airports in Asia-Pacific showed the second-highest growth in passenger traffic among the world's key geographical areas in the first nine months of the year.
Overall passenger throughput at Asia-Pacific airports, including those of Thailand, surged 7.3% for the period, second to the 9.3% growth recorded in Europe.
The two regions' growth rates surpassed the global average growth of 6.5% in the period, according to figures from Airports Council International (ACI).
The growth rates in other key geographical markets for the nine-month period were 5.6% in the Middle East; 4.7% for Africa; 4.5% for Latin America-Caribbean; and 3.1% for North America.
Europe's sustained growth in passenger traffic continued through the third quarter, seemingly unaffected by the geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, ACI said.
The region's September growth rate of 8.9% was nearly double the global rate and closely tracking its 9.3% year-to-date growth.
The first nine months saw domestic travel in both India and China continue to thrive but also showed signs of moderation.
For September, Asia-Pacific airports reported growth of 7.3%, maintaining momentum.
Middle Eastern airports recorded a decline of 0.8% in September versus the same period last year.
The pace of growth eased in the Middle East, due to considerable impact from the continuing blockade against Qatar.
Passenger traffic in the Middle East showed mixed results in September. Growth in passenger traffic softened in Dubai due to the timing of religious holidays.
Doha's September volume plunged 18.4% as results continued to be negatively impacted by Qatar's diplomatic crisis with a number of neighbouring states, whereas Muscat and Kuwait City recorded double-digit growth rates of 11.4% and 10.5% respectively.
In terms of air freight, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East grew 9.4% and 7.3% respectively in September. For the nine-month period, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East grew 9.8% and 7.7% respectively.
Exports continued to drive strong air freight growth in Asia-Pacific, led by Hong Kong (9.1%), Shanghai Pudong (12.3%) and Seoul Incheon (11.3%).
