OMA reports a 0.2% decrease in December 2017 passenger traffic and a 4.8% increase in full year 2017 traffic

• 14 routes opened in December and 44 routes opened in 2017
• The Monterrey airport served 828,000 passengers in December (+3.9%) and 9.7 million passengers (+6.5%) in 2017 and generated the largest increase in total traffic
• Seven airports reached all-time highs for annual passenger traffic

MONTERREY, Mexico, Jan. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mexican airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, S.A.B. de C.V., known as OMA OMAB OMA, reports that terminal passenger traffic at its 13 airports decreased 0.2% in December 2017, as compared to December 2016. Domestic traffic decreased 0.3%, and international traffic increased 0.9%.

During December 2017, domestic traffic increased in four airports, with the largest increases in:

• Monterrey (+3.9%; +26,882 passengers), with 48% of OMA's total domestic traffic, benefitted principally from increases on the routes Querétaro, Cancún, and Mexicali.
• Culiacán (+10.2%; +17,333), the second largest airport with 13% of domestic traffic, grew as a result of increased traffic on the Tijuana and Guadalajara routes.

Seven domestic routes opened in December. VivaAerobus opened the Monterrey – Huatulco, Monterrey – Querétaro, Culiacán – Chihuahua, and Chihuahua – Culiacán routes; and Interjet opened the Monterrey – Aguascalientes, Monterrey – San Luis Potosí, and San Luis Potosí – Monterrey routes.

International traffic grew in seven airports in December, with the largest increase in Monterrey (+2.4%; +2,815 passengers) as a result of an increase in traffic on the Atlanta route.

During the month, seven international routes opened: Volaris opened the Acapulco – Los Angeles, Zacatecas – San Jose, California, and Zihuatanejo – Chicago routes; United opened the Mazatlán – Houston and Mazatlán – Chicago routes; Aeroméxico opened the Monterrey – Denver route; and Sunwing opened the Mazatlán – Regina, Canada route.

Of total December traffic, 99.0% was commercial aviation and 1.0% was general aviation.

For the full year 2017, total passenger traffic increased 4.8% to 19.7 million passengers, the 8th consecutive annual increase.  Domestic passenger traffic grew 5.1% and international passenger traffic grew 2.8%.  Seven airports – Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Chihuahua, Mazatlán, Monterrey, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas – reached new records for total traffic.

In addition to Monterrey, with 9.7 million passengers for the year, the Culiacán, Chihuahua, and Ciudad Juárez airports each served more than one million passengers, as a result of the sustained growth in traffic.

During 2017, a total of 44 routes opened in OMA's airports: 30 domestic and 14 international.  The airports with the largest number of new routes were Monterrey (20 routes), Culiacán (7 routes), and Zihuatanejo (5 routes).

OMA's complete traffic report, including tables, is available at http://ir.oma.aero.

This press release 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 information and expectations and projections about future events. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "target," "estimate," 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 most recent annual report filed on Form 20-F under the caption "Risk Factors." OMA undertakes no obligation to update publicly its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.                            
                             
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, Mazatlán, and Zihuatanejo, and nine other regional centers and border cities. OMA also operates the NH Collection Hotel inside Terminal 2 of the Mexico City airport and the Hilton Garden Inn at the Monterrey airport. OMA employs over 1,000 persons in order to offer passengers and clients airport and commercial services in facilities that comply with all applicable international safety, security, and ISO 9001:2008 environmental standards.  OMA is listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange (OMA) and on the NASDAQ Global Select Market (OMAB). For more information, visit:

• Webpage http://ir.oma.aero
• Twitter http://twitter.com/OMAeropuertos
• Facebook https://www.facebook.com/OMAeropuertos

CONTACT:

Investor Relations: 
Emmanuel Camacho 
+52 (81) 8625 4308
ecamacho@oma.aero

In the US: Daniel Wilson /Zemi Communications
+1 (212) 689 9560
dbmwilson@zemi.com

Media Relations:
Paola Fernández
+52 (81) 8625 4300
pfernandez@oma.aero