MONTERREY, Mexico, Feb. 11, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V., known as OMA (Nasdaq:OMAB), reports that total passenger traffic (terminal passengers) at its 13 airports increased 11.4% in January 2008, as compared to January 2007. The increase is a result of the double digit growth in domestic passenger traffic.
Domestic traffic in January 2008 increased 17.3% (+135,799 passengers), compared to the prior year period. Twelve of our airports reported growth in domestic passenger traffic as a result of new routes, including the Aguascalientes-Zacatecas-Tijuana, Tijuana-Acapulco-Tapachula, Culiacan-Guadalajara, and Monterrey-Puebla routes. The airports that reported the most significant growth in passenger traffic were Reynosa (+95.3%), Mazatlan (+41.9%), Ciudad Juarez (+40.4%), and Culiacan (+32.1%). Passenger traffic at the Zacatecas airport decreased 12.2%, as a result of the suspension of operations of Lineas Aereas Azteca.
International traffic decreased 5.8% (-15,413) in January 2008, as compared to January 2007. International traffic at the Acapulco, Mazatlan and Zihuatanejo airports, located in tourist destinations, decreased significantly (22.5%, 8.8%, and 12.9% respectively), as a result of the reduction in charter and seasonal flights. In addition, passenger traffic at the Zacatecas, Tampico, and Durango decreased due to the cancellation or reduction of frequencies in international routes. The airports that recorded the most significant increases were San Luis Potosi (+21.6%), Chihuahua (+17.7%), and Monterrey (+10.6%), as a result of the increase in frequencies of several international routes.
Total Passengers*
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(Thousand) Jan-07 Jan-08 Change %
Domestic 787.1 922.9 17.3
International 267.2 251.8 (5.8)
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OMA Total 1,054.3 1,174.7 11.4
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* Terminal passengers: excludes transit passengers
By airport
Monterrey, OMA's principal airport, served 499,716 passengers in January 2008, an increase of 10.7% (+48,220 passengers) compared to the same month of 2007. Domestic traffic at Monterrey airport increased 10.7%, principally as a result of the growing volume of passengers served by the new airlines. International traffic rose 10.6% as a result of higher occupancy rates and an increase in frequencies of international flights.
Passenger traffic at the airports of Ciudad Juarez and Reynosa, located in cities on the U.S. border, grew 40.5% and 96.0% respectively. Both airports have benefited from the opening of new routes and the increase in frequencies of routes operated by the new domestic airlines.
For more information please visit: http://ir.oma.aero/
About OMA
Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V., known as OMA, operates 13 international airports in nine states of central and northern Mexico. OMA's airports serve Monterrey, Mexico's third largest metropolitan area, the tourist destinations of Acapulco, Mazatlan, and Zihuatanejo, and nine other regional centers and border cities. OMA employs over 900 persons in order to offer passengers and clients, airport and commercial services in facilities that comply with all applicable international safety, security standards, and ISO 9001:2000. OMA's strategic shareholder members are ICA, Mexico's largest engineering, procurement, and construction company, and Aeroports de Paris Management, subsidiary of Aeroports de Paris, the second largest European airports operator. OMA is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV:OMA) and on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (Nasdaq:OMAB). Please visit our website, www.oma.aero.
This communication may contain forward-looking information and statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements are only predictions based on our current expectations and projections about future events. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "target," or similar expressions. While OMA's management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the control of OMA, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed in our Annual Report filed on Form 20-F under the caption "Risk Factors." OMA undertakes no obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.