Guadalajara, Mexico - Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V., (GAP) recently announced preliminary terminal passenger traffic figures for the month of October 2015 compared to traffic figures for October 2014.

During October 2015, total terminal passengers increased 25.0% in the 12 Mexico-based airports compared to the same period of the previous year; traffic through the Montego Bay airport rose 1.0% during the same period. Domestic passenger traffic presented a 16.7% increase in the Mexican airports, while international passenger traffic increased 49.8%. Montego Bay contributed 229 thousand passengers to GAP’s network of airports during the month of October, for an accumulated increase of 4.8% since January.

The following items are highlights from traffic results for the month of October:

Load Factor for the Mexican Airports: During the month of October, GAP registered a 20.7% increase in the number of seats compared to last year. Load factor grew 2.7 percent to reach 77.9%.

New Routes: Hermosillo to La Paz and Hermosillo to Ciudad Juarez by TAR, Puerto Vallarta to Orange County by Alaska Airlines, Puerto Vallarta to San Luis Potosi by TAR, Puerto Vallarta to Houston Hobby by Southwest Airlines, Los Cabos to Orange County by Alaska Airlines and Monterrey to Tijuana by Aeromexico.

Aguascalientes and Guanajuato: The Guanajuato airport has become the ninth most important airport in the country in terms of passenger traffic. The low cost carriers grew an average of 41.5% during October, specifically Interjet, which grew its passenger traffic by 49.0%. In addition, growth trends at the Aguascalientes airport have stabilized, as a result the new routes to Tijuana and Mexico City by Interjet and to Monterrey by Aeromexico reaching their maturity levels.

Guadalajara: This airport continues to report historical domestic as well as international passenger levels. Domestic airlines experienced double-digit growth during October, particularly Volaris, which grew by 28.0%, Interjet, which grew by 23.3% and VivaAerobus, which grew by 14.2%. In the same manner, international airlines experienced significant growth; American Airlines was the largest contributor with a 42.0% passenger traffic increase versus October 2014.

Puerto Vallarta: Following Hurricane Patricia, which passed over the Jalisco coast, this airport’s infrastructure suffered no damage and is 100% operative. However, international traffic during the month of October led to a decrease of 1.1% due to the alert given at the airport, which caused airlines to reschedule their flights. There have been no reports of flight cancellations; therefore the level of available seats by the foreign airlines is expected to remain at stable levels for the remainder of the year. In addition, the Company expects that the volume of international seats will increase by 13.8% for November and December, equivalent to 76,000 additional seats compared to the same period of the previous year.

Los Cabos: During October, this airport contributed 44.7% to the total growth among GAP’s Mexican airports. In October of 2014, this airport was closed for the first 8 days of the year as a result of the Hurricane “Odile” impact and damages to the hotel facilities were reported; causing a passenger decrease of 66.2%. The Company expects that for the end of the year, the airlines will offer a total of 817 thousand seats, in this manner achieving a total recovery of passenger traffic at this airport.

Tijuana: The airport saw an increase in domestic traffic of 22.1% mainly driven by Volaris, which generated an increase of 28.2 % versus the previous year. Interjet, on the other hand, continues to gain market share, as a result of a 17.7% increase and finally, Aeroméxico increased traffic volumes for the month by 7.1% as a result of its new route from Monterrey. The initiation of operations of the cross border bridge that will take place in December 2015, has caused an increase in the availability of airline operations to and from Tijuana.

Manzanillo: Following Hurricane Patricia’s alert on October 23, the airport suspended operations throughout that day, reopening on Saturday, October 24 at 3 p.m. with no record of damage to the infrastructure. Due to the above, several airlines canceled operations, which resulted in a drop in total passenger traffic for this month. Likewise, the output of Interjet and Volaris from the airport contributed to the decline in passenger traffic; therefore, the Company is negotiating the arrival of new flights and operators to the airport.

Montego Bay: Despite the 1.3% decrease in the number of available seats at this airport, load factors grew by 1.9%, reaching 82.3%. During November and December of 2015, Southwest shall initiate operations from Houston Hobby, American Airlines will initiate operations from Los Angeles, German Wings from Cologne, Condor from Frankfurt and Munich and Thomas Cook from Gutenberg.