On 9 July, a record peak in traffic since the airport’s creation was reached, with 28,034 passengers passing through in 24 hours. Traffic increased by +10.6% compared with 2017. More than 3,900,000 travellers have used the airport since the beginning of the year. International flights also set a new record in July, with 445,000 passengers, representing a 16.1% growth. The low-cost sector, up by 17.5%, was a key contributing factor to this success. Domestic flights marked a return to growth, with +2.7%.
International traffic recorded a growth of 16.1% with 455,000 travellers, setting this year’s record for international routes in terms of passenger numbers. July’s holidaymakers flocked largely to destinations in the sun. Heraklion recorded one of the month’s best performances, with an 84.3% growth. Greece was also a popular choice, with Santorini (+55%), Corfu (+44.5%), and Athens (+10.9%). Figures were also boosted by the strong appeal of the Iberian Peninsula, with 91,000 travellers this month flying to: Ibiza (+75%), Faro (+72%), Malaga (+64%), Barcelona (+27.5%), Alicante (+22.7%), Madrid (+15%) and Palma (+4.2%). Italian destinations followed the same trend of strong progression: Venice (+28.2%), Naples (+13.8%) and Bergamo (+7.7%). EasyJet’s new route to Catania, launched for this summer, met with good results, in excess of 4,100 passengers for the month of July. Croatia recorded strong growth too: Dubrovnik (+49.9%) and Split (+12.1%).
Destinations in Northern and Eastern Europe also gained momentum. Germany did very well: Frankfurt (+61%), Munich (+28.3%), Berlin (+18.1%), and Hamburg (+10.3%). Wizz Air transported around 3,000 passengers to each of its new destinations: Budapest and Warsaw. The British Isles attracted more than 81,000 travellers in July. As for Blue Air, the airline’s second season operating flights to Bucharest recorded strong growth, up 52.5%. The new Luxembourg route, operated by easyJet, attracted approximately 6,000 passengers in the month. The Air Transat long-haul destination of Montreal showed strong momentum, with a traffic increase of 52.6%
The Maghreb pursued its growth with, among other destinations, Oran (+46.7%) and Tunis (+19%).
Domestic traffic volumes reversed their tendency, with 2.7% growth and 283,000 passengers. Corsica was a sellout in July, with 35,000 passengers, 8,200 more than last year, and a growth of 23%: Bastia (+73%), Calvi (+34.5%), Figari (+33.2%), and Ajaccio (+12.1%). Flights to other French cities also did well: Toulon (+30.7%), Brest (+25.1%), Lille (+16.6%), Lyon (+10.5%), and Marseille (+9.7%). Paris flights recorded an 11.3% decrease in traffic.
Low cost flights represented more than half of all traffic in July, with 428,400 passengers and 17.5% growth. The main contributor, easyJet, showed the strongest growth with +19.3%, followed by Volotea at +14.5%.
