* Domestic traffic grows 5.8%
* International traffic grows 5.9%
MONTERREY, Mexico, June 6, 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 5.9% in May 2008, as compared to May 2007.
Domestic traffic in May 2008 increased 5.8% (+58,700 passengers), compared to the prior year period. The airports that reported the most significant growth in passenger traffic were Reynosa, Acapulco, Ciudad Juarez, and Monterrey, as a result of an increase in frequencies and a higher occupation rate on some airlines. The airports in Durango, Torreon, Zacatecas, and Chihuahua registered reductions, as a result of lower load factors and the cancellation of frequencies and routes by Aerocalifornia and Aviacsa, principally.
International traffic increased 5.9% (+9,724 passengers) in May 2008, as compared to May 2007. Airports in Chihuahua, San Luis Potosi, Monterrey, Tampico, Torreon, and Zihuatanejo showed growth, principally as a result of the opening of new international routes. Airports in Culiacan, Acapulco, Mazatlan, and Zacatecas recorded reductions in international traffic, as a result of a reduction in scheduled international flights by various carriers.
Total Passengers*
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Jan-May Jan-May
(Thousand) May-07 May-08 Change % 2007 2008 Change %
Domestic 1,014.5 1,073.2 5.8 4,516.4 5,056.8 12.0
International 166.2 175.9 5.9 1,179.1 1,161.9 (1.5)
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OMA Total 1,180.6 1,249.1 5.8 5,695.6 6,218.6 9.2
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* Terminal passengers: excludes transit passengers
By airport
Monterrey, OMA's principal airport, served 619,417 passengers in May 2008, an increase of 9.4% (+53,185 passengers) compared to the same month of 2007. Domestic traffic at Monterrey airport increased 8.9% as a result of an increase in frequencies and higher load factors principally on the routes to and from Mexico City, Toluca, Cancun, Guadalajara, and Veracruz. International traffic increased 12.6% as a result of new routes to Austin on VivaAerobus, New York on Mexicana, and Detroit on Northwest and Aeromexico (starting in April).
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.