Ammon News - AMMAN (Petra) The number of Queen Alia International Airport passengers exceeded 6 million in 2012, Airport International Group (AIG), the Jordanian consortium responsible for the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of the airport, has announced.

The group added in a press release issued Sunday that the final month of the year saw 441,288 passengers traveling through QAIA, posting a 2.4% increase compared to the same month in 2011.

The annual traffic exceeded six million passengers for the first time in the airport's history, the group said.

The total number of passengers for 2012 was recorded at about 6,250,000, exceeding the annual total of the previous year by 14.3%, or more than half a million passengers.

The passenger traffic has exceeded the airport's current capacity of 3.5 million annual passengers for the last four years, AIG said, adding that the rapidly approaching launch of the new terminal would eliminate QAIA's current capacity constrictions, catapulting the airport capacity to 9 million annual passengers.

Aircraft movement figures for 2012 also hit record numbers, with December's total of 5,165 aircraft movements (ACMs), posting a 1.4% increase compared to December 2011, bringing the annual total of aircraft movements at the airport to 67,190 movements, 5.9% higher than 2011, which registered 63,426 ACMs.

AIG CEO Kjeld Binger commented on the release of the latest statistics, saying, "Reaching these new milestones for traffic at QAIA is a great achievement in itself, made even more noteworthy by the fact that they have been reached just ahead of the biggest and most important milestone in the development of QAIA; the upcoming launch of the new terminal. This new national landmark represents the realization of His Majesty's vision for the airport, and the promising figures recorded in 2012 provide further optimism in the future of QAIA, as well as that of the entire Kingdom." The state-of-the-art new terminal boasts vastly improved infrastructure, with a larger check-in area, clearly marked signage and flight information monitors, comfortable seating, a larger duty-free area, and a wider variety of food and beverage outlets, among many other greatly enhanced features. The opening of the terminal, slated to happen in the coming months, will take place following a one-time, overnight operational transfer from the old facilities.

AIG is investing an estimated $750m in the construction of a landmark new terminal now almost 92% complete which will serve as a source of pride and prosperity for all Jordanians. This new terminal will significantly increase the airport capacity to 9 million passengers annually, nearly three times the current airport capacity of 3.5 million annual passengers.

Future expansions will further increase the airport capacity to 12 million passengers a year. AIG has also spent an additional $100m on rehabilitating and improving the existing terminals to enable the airport to handle the continuous growth in passenger traffic.