ACI: WORLD’S AIRPORTS SAW SLUMP IN CARGO BEFORE SEPTEMBER ATTACKS

ACI: WORLD’S AIRPORTS SAW SLUMP IN CARGO BEFORE SEPTEMBER ATTACKS    A recent Airports Council International report shows that worldwide cargo traffic were slumping even before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
   ACI reported that August cargo traffic worldwide was down 10 percent from the year-earlier period. The results from September will be published around mid-December, according to ACI.
   The report shows that cargo volumes registered in double-digit drops in Africa (down 12 percent), North America (11 percent), and Asia/Pacific and the Mideast (10 percent each). The report shows also that cargo volumes dropped in Europe (7 percent) and Latin America and the Caribbean region (5 percent).
   The report said Memphis International Airport recorded a 4 percent increase in cargo volume in August, to 230,000 metric tons. Other major airports with improved cargo volumes were Guangzhou (up 6 percent), Dubai (4 percent), Beijing and Indianapolis (3 percent each).
   ACI membership comprises 554 international airports and airport authorities, and represents the world’s airports in interacting with the International Civil Aviation Organization, with which it has observer status, and other world bodies.