Monthly traffic statistics - September 2018

After a succession of announcements (a new Ryanair base and the arrival of Air Canada in 2019), the September figures confirmed the airport’s momentum, with growth of 11.8% and 662,600 passengers. This increase in traffic was boosted by international routes which posted 19.2% growth, representing 397,000 passengers. Domestic routes progressed by 2.3%, or 266,000 passengers.

International traffic increased by 19.2% with 397,000 passengers.

• The long-haul flight to Montreal operated by Air Transat confirmed this appeal with traffic up 15.2% for 5,780 passengers. This is very encouraging for Air Canada, since the airline is to operate additional flights on this route during next year’s peak summer season.
• The British Isles registered 156,000 passengers, an overall rise of 10.8%: Belfast (+71.6%), Edinburgh (+20.8%), Bristol (+17%), and Liverpool (+15.6%).
• The Iberian Peninsula is one of the stars of the month, with 83,800 passengers and growth of 27%. The best figures were Faro (+184%), Ibiza (+56.1%), Palma (+46%), and Tenerife (+39.2%).
• Italy continues its upward momentum, growing 24.3% with 42,600 passengers. Milan (+25.5%) deserves a special mention, as do Rome (+23.2%) and Venice (+20.8%). This momentum appears to be well established, with Ryanair’s announcement of 2 brand new Italian destinations (Bari and Treviso) for 2019 as well as additional flights on the Naples route that is already operated by Volotea.
• Flights to Greece and the Greek islands increased by 22.5% with 11,700 passengers. Volotea’s flights to Corfu and Santorini carried respectively 15.2% and 10.2% more passengers.
• Germany and Central Europe also maintained momentum: Bucharest (+50.9%), Hamburg (+26.5%) and Berlin (+14.7%). With WizzAir, 2,580 passengers travelled to Budapest and 2,670 to Warsaw. The airline has confirmed it will operate both routes again in summer 2019.
• Traffic to the Maghreb continued to grow with, among other cities, Oran (+22.2%) and Tunis (+12.2%). 

The international hubs were in high demand: Dublin (+28.5%), Barcelona (+23.3%), Madrid (+19.6%), Brussels (+16%) and Istanbul (+11.1%). The recently-opened Bordeaux-Zurich route scored extremely well, with 6,800 passengers travelling to the Swiss hub in September.

Domestic traffic lost no impetus either, with 266,000 passengers, representing 2.3% growth. The major transversal routes posted good results: Lille (+34.8%), Nice (+25%), Marseille (+11.9%) and Lyon (+7.7%), while Paris traffic dropped by 13%. Corsica appealed to September holidaymakers, with a total of 26,500 passengers: Bastia (+43%), Figari (+18.3%), and Ajaccio (+7.5%)

Low cost flights recorded growth of 22.8% with 368,000 passengers. The significant expansion of Bordeaux Airport’s low-cost network looks set to continue with the opening of a new base in 2019, by Ryanair, making it the third low-cost airline to establish operations in Bordeaux since the arrival in 2013 of Volotea, up again by 22.5% in September. With Ryanair’s announcement comes the launch of 16 new flights for the 2019 summer season (Bari*, Cologne*, Copenhagen*, Dublin, Fez, Cracow*, Manchester, Marrakech, Marseille, Mykonos*, Nantes, Naples, Ouarzazate*, Tangier*, Valence* and Treviso*).

*new link