MONTERREY, Mexico, April 8, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V., known as OMA, reports that total passenger traffic (terminal passengers) at its 13 airports increased 7.7% in March 2008, as compared to March 2007. For the first quarter of 2008, total traffic increased 11.5%, as compared to the same period of 2007.
Domestic traffic in March 2008 increased 9.5% (+94,376 passengers), compared to the prior year period. The airports that reported the most significant growth in passenger traffic were Reynosa, Culiacan, Ciudad Juarez, Zihuatanejo, and Mazatlan. For the first quarter of 2008, domestic traffic increased 15.8%.
International traffic increased 1.9% (+5,721 passengers) in March 2008, as compared to March 2007. International traffic rose in Monterrey, Chihuahua, Culiacan, Torreon, San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas as a result of increased frequencies on some routes. The principal decreases were in the tourist destination airports (Acapulco, Mazatlan, and Zihuatanejo) where the Holy Week vacation period did not stop the declining trend of recent months and the continued reduction of both scheduled and charter flights. International traffic in the first quarter decreased 2.0%.
Total Passengers*
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Jan-Mar Jan-Mar
(Thousand) Mar-07 Mar-08 Change % 2007 2008 Change %
Domestic 995.5 1,089.9 9.5 2,549.8 2,952.4 15.8
International 298.5 304.2 1.9 810.4 793.9 (2.0)
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OMA Total 1,294.0 1,394.1 7.7 3,360.1 3,746.3 11.5
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* Terminal passengers: excludes transit passengers
By airport
Monterrey, OMA's principal airport, served 604,467 passengers in March 2008, an increase of 9.0% (+40,704 passengers) compared to the same month of 2007. Domestic traffic at Monterrey airport increased 7.6% as a result of the effect of the growing volume of passengers served by the new airlines, which was offset in part by fewer business passengers during the Holy Week vacation period and by a reduction in passengers carried by Aviacsa. International traffic rose 17.6% as a result of increased frequencies on routes to Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Las Vegas.
Traffic at Culiacan and Ciudad Juarez grew 30.6% and 27.2%, respectively. The airlines that started operating at these airports in 2007 have contributed significantly to their growth.
For the complete traffic report, 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 (OMA) and on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (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.