Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico - Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. recently announced preliminary terminal passenger traffic figures for the month of March 2016, compared to traffic figures for March 2015.

During March 2016, total terminal passengers increased 17.9% in the 13 airports, compared to the same period of the previous year. Domestic passenger traffic presented a 25.1% increase, while international passenger traffic increased 10.1%.

Based on passenger traffic during the first quarter and forecasted traffic considering offered seats figures provided by airlines for the remainder of the year, GAP expects an annual increase in passenger volume between 10% and 11% for 2016.

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

Quarter Growth: Passenger traffic grew 17.8% in 1Q16 compared to 1Q15, due to an increase of 1.52 million in available seats stemming from Volaris’ and Interjet’s fleet growth. Secondly, GAP reported one extra day in February as it was a leap year, which generated an additional 1% of traffic. Lastly, the Easter holiday took place in March, resulting in a 3.7% increase in passenger traffic; whereas in 2015, Easter fell in April.

Seats and Load Factor: In March 2016, GAP registered a 15.4% increase in the number of seats compared to March 2015. Load factor grew 1.1% compared to last year, reaching 83.5 percent.

Guadalajara: In the last 12 months, the airport reached 10.1 million passengers, becoming the third Mexican airport in the history to surpass 10 million passengers. In March, Aeromexico opened its route to Los Monchis, while VivaAerobus resumed its route to Tijuana with two daily flights. During the Easter holiday, frequencies increased to destinations such as Cancun and Los Angeles.

Puerto Vallarta: Domestic traffic grew 22.4% due to an increase of 6 thousand domestic seats by Volaris and 4 thousand by Aeromexico. International traffic increased in the number of seats offered by Southwest and United by 27 thousand and 12 thousand, respectively.

Los Cabos: Continues to show significant improvement in passenger load factor. This indicator increased from 77.6% in March 2015 to 85.7% in March 2016. Hotel infrastructure in Los Cabos is at its best; at the beginning of March the Ministry of Tourism recorded 11,730 available rooms in 4 and 5 star hotels. In March, Volaris opened a route from Toluca to Los Cabos and AereoCalafia opened a route from the Bajio region.

Tijuana: Continues to strengthen its growth rate, which is the highest year-to-date in 2016 among the 10 largest airports in the country. In March, available seats increased 39.9% compared to last year. Volaris is the airline that contributes the most to this growth with 76.2%. The airport continues to position itself as the most efficient option for passengers traveling to the United States, due to its competitive rates and the recent opening of the Cross Border Xpress This cross-border bridge registered market penetration of 19.2% of Tijuana airport total passengers in March, reaching 97,084 users crossing the border via this bridge.

Montego Bay: Passenger traffic increased 3.6% during March. Delta and United Airlines contributed the most to the increase in offered seats, with 9 thousand and 4 thousand additional seats, respectively. Meanwhile, the charter flight market continues to be the main growth driver, increasing 19.1% during the month.

Company Description: Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates 12 airports throughout Mexico’s Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis. In February 2006, GAP's shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "PAC" and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "GAP." In April 2015 GAP acquired 100% of Desarrollo de Concesiones Aeroportuarias, S.L., which owns a majority stake of MJ Airports Limited, a company operating the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Original article