MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Passenger traffic at Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASR), or Asur, fell 51% in May from the same month a year ago when an outbreak of influenza kept tourists away.
Asur, which operates the airport at Cancun and eight others, said overall passenger traffic dropped to 741,920 from 1.5 million in the year-ago month.
Cancun and nearby Cozumel were the hardest hit as the outbreak of A/H1N1 influenza kept tourists away. Cancun traffic fell 55% to 481,792 passengers, with domestic traffic down 35% and international traffic down 63%.
The flu outbreak, which infected more than 5,000 people and killed more than 100, led a number of countries to ban travel to and from Mexico and others to recommend people avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.
Cruise lines also canceled arrivals on Mexican shores, affecting the nearby island of Cozumel. Air passenger traffic to Cozumel fell 56% to 21,163, with domestic traffic down 84% and international traffic off 50%.
The flu emergency began in late April and lasted through mid-May, when the government began efforts to promote a return to the country's tourist spots.
Asur made no mention of the flu outbreak in its statement.
The company said that regional airline Aviacsa, which was grounded late Tuesday by federal transport authorities on safety concerns, accounted for 5% of its total passenger traffic in the past 12 months.
The government gave Aviacsa 60 days to correct the situation with its fleet of planes.
-By Anthony Harrup, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5001 5727, anthony.harrup@dowjones.com
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Publié le 03 Juin 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones