A trend confirmed once again for international flights, which posted growth of 21.2% with 354,000 passengers transported. This increase was largely boosted by the low cost sector, which finished the month up 23.1%. Domestic traffic continued to progress too, with 5.7% growth for 271,000 passengers.
International traffic made excellent progress with 21.2% growth and 354,000 passengers.
- The Iberian peninsula recorded the greatest passenger volume, with 77,600 travellers and growth of 23.7%. Demand remained high for destinations in the sun, such as Palma de Mallorca (+91%) and Malaga (+44.4%), while the Faro link operated by Volotea and easyJet (since April 2018) saw a five-fold increase in passenger traffic. Madrid and Barcelona both progressed by 10.2%.
- Flights to Germany saw the month’s strongest traffic growth, with +64.8%. Frankfurt (+368%), Munich (+22.8%), Berlin (+12.8%), and Hamburg (+11.8%) were especially successful routes. Services to Central Europe also performed well, notably Bucharest (+66.1%) and Prague (+6.7%), while 2,344 passengers flew to Warsaw.
- The British Isles attracted 60,500 passengers from Bordeaux, posting growth of 7.2%: Dublin (+17%), London Gatwick (+11%) and Edinburgh (+7.3%).
- Italy continued its upward trend with 21.3% growth, or 41,400 passengers, Milan and Naples posting excellent results (+21.9% and +35.5% respectively). Sicily did well too, with 5,952 passengers travelling to Catania and Palermo.
- Greece and the Greek Islands recorded growth of 42.8% to 8,400 passengers. The greatest traffic increase was posted by Athens, with +11.9%.
- The appeal of North African destinations such as Fez (+72.6%), Marrakesh (+17.7%) and Tunis (+6.9%), continued to increase.
- The long-haul route to Montreal operated by Air Transat renewed its good results, doubling-up with 5,500 passengers carried in October.
- Most of the international hubs also posted growth: Brussels (+17%), Istanbul (+16.4%), Barcelona (+10.2%), Madrid (+10.2%), and Amsterdam (+2.5%). The Swiss hub of Zurich achieved good figures once again, registering 7,200 monthly passengers.
Domestic traffic continued to progress too, with 5.7% growth and 271,000 passengers. The major transverse routes posted excellent results, led by Lille (+41%), and followed by Nice (+27.7%), Marseille (+17.5%) and Lyon (+13.5%). Paris traffic fell by only 6.7%, with 112,700 passengers for the month of October, demonstrating the resilience of Air France’s “Navette” service.
Low cost flights recorded a very strong increase, yet again, up by 23.1% with 349,000 passengers. EasyJet carried 208,000 travellers, progressing by 28.6%, and began operating flights to Essaouira on 31 October. Volotea also did remarkably well, with growth of 30.3%. Three new routes launched at the end of October will be operated by Ryanair during the winter season: Fez, Marrakesh and Valence.
