BORDEAUX AIRPORT, again a new record, over 550,000 passengers in July
With a growth of + 8% in July, Bordeaux Airport has again recorded the highest monthly passenger numbers since its creation, showing very positive momentum and slightly better than last month’s record. This was mainly driven by the solid growth of international destinations, up +17.4%, with more than 300,000 passengers. A single cloud in this bright blue summer sky, domestic traffic was down -1.6%. Low-cost travel is very popular this summer season, +14.1% traffic in July.
International traffic rose +17.4%. Growth figures for “sunny” destinations were remarkable, with travellers taking them by storm. Spain was in the spotlight with very high passenger numbers: Ibiza with Volotea (+50.6%), Palma served by Volotea and Vueling (+17%), Madrid with Iberia (+18%), and Barcelona (+12%). With the arrival of Vueling added to the offering by Volotea, Malaga posted a +91.1% increase in traffic in relation to 2014. Italy was also widely chosen as a holiday destination: Valencia with Volotea (+46%), Naples (Volotea) +31%, Rome (Hop! and Air France) +11%, and Bologna served by Ryanair (+15%).
Despite the current economic crisis, Greece continued to attract tourists with Athens, Heraklion, Corfu, Rhodes and Santorini welcoming more than 11,000 passengers during the month.
Northern Europe did not lag far behind: for example Brussels recorded passenger numbers up +68%. Other very good figures were of note for Oslo (+38%), Stockholm (+27%), Amsterdam (+20%), Dublin (+26%), Liverpool (+17%) and London (+8%). This was proof, if required, of the enormous power of attraction which Bordeaux and its region has for our northern European neighbours. The strong growth outside Europe should also be emphasised, as well as traffic towards the large intercontinental hubs like Istanbul, which achieved spectacular passenger numbers, up +91.4% on last year. The Maghreb followed this trend with growth renewed at the end of Ramadan: Algiers (+31.2%), Oran (+42.6%), Casablanca (+25.3%) and Tunis (+15.6%).
Domestic traffic was down in July with -1.6%. However, this trend was mainly due to a drop in capacity Paris-Orly route, with a secondary effect for Marseille.
Most of the other destinations rose sharply, such as Corsica, with Figari served by Hop! and Volotea (+23%), and Ajaccio (+16%) with Volotea and Bastia (+11%). Northern France also posted positive figures: Lille (+9%), Rennes (+11%), Strasbourg (+17%). Services to the international CDG hub were also buoyant at +7%.
Low-cost traffic continued to grow with +14% traffic, or 263,264 passengers. Volotea recorded excellent growth with a 33% increase in passenger numbers compared to 2014. EasyJet also progressed well with +17%. In terms of market share, low cost flights now account for more than 40% of airport traffic.