May 27, 2005 1:00 PM, EDT

Air Cargo Rose 5% in 2004, Group Says

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he Airports Council International-North America said Friday that air cargo traffic grew 5% last year, while passenger traffic grew by 8% compared with a year earlier.

Memphis International Airport remained the busiest cargo airport in the world, handling over 3.6 million metric tons, an increase of 4.8% over its final 2003 numbers, ACI-NA said.

Chicago O’Hare remained in the highest position in total operations worldwide with a yearly total of 992,427 movements. Atlanta-Hartsfield posted a 5.8% increase in operation at 964,858 movements. Dallas/Ft. Worth ranked third with 804,865 operations.

The group said more than more than 1.46 billion passengers traveled through North American airports in 2004.

The ACI-NA Traffic Report contains passenger, freight/mail and aircraft operations data for 187 North American airport members.