International traffic boomed In Bordeaux Airport this summer

These excellent figures hold great promise as we move into autumn. Over the last three months, international traffic overtook domestic flights for the first time, by more than 115,000 passengers. The numerous new routes opened in 2015 plus the attractiveness of the city and its region for tourists contribute significantly to the internationalisation of the airport. Low cost flights account for close on half of the summer traffic. Flights to domestic destinations were slightly down in June, July and August. Overall, Bordeaux Airport registered an increase of 7%.  

International traffic reached a record high with 874,160 passengers, a 14.1% increase over the summer season thanks to the development of certain destinations and the opening of 10 new international routes as from the spring. Traffic through the international hubs definitely boosted the scores of the airport: Istanbul +94.8% with a daily flight as from the start of the season, Amsterdam +18.1%, Lisbon +29.7%, Madrid +18.1%, Paris Charles-de-Gaulle +6.6% and London Gatwick +6.1%.  Over 435,000 passengers used these international connection hubs over the last 3 months.

• Spain took first prize this summer with over 93,000 passengers thanks to the excellent figure for Barcelona (+7.2%) and to the record numbers to Malaga where traffic doubled with the arrival of Vueling rounding out the offer of Volotea. The Spanish capital also recorded a strong increase of +18.1%. Ibiza with Volotea also came in with excellent figures, showing an increase of +62.6% over the 2014 season.
• Italy came a close second just behind its Mediterranean neighbour with over 78,000 passengers. Rome continued to show an increase in traffic with +4.6% for the Hop! and Ryanair companies.
• Greece took off with two new destinations: Athens with Aegean Airlines and Corfu served by Volotea, for a total of around 24,000 passengers. Flights to Iraklion shared in the success with an increase in traffic of +33.1% over the season.
• Northern Europe was not to be outdone by all those “sunshine” destinations. Brussels enjoyed a great summer with a 54% increase in traffic, explained by the arrival on that route of Brussels Airlines in March. Belfast, with EasyJet, recorded the biggest summer increase with +145.5% thanks to the addition of a weekly flight to its schedule.   

Domestic traffic stood at 731,929 passengers, a drop of 0.8% over the 3 months of the summer period that can be explained mainly by the reduction in the number of seats on flights to Paris-Orly and Marseille. Growth was good on the other regional routes. Corsica drew summer tourists with an increase of 10.7% on the three flights from Bordeaux to Ajaccio, Bastia and Figari.    

Low-cost traffic also showed an increase of +11.3% over the last 3 months. The low-cost companies ended the summer with 47% of the airport’s traffic. Volotea, which opened 5 new routes during the summer season, recorded an increase of 26.6% and EasyJet also enjoyed an increase of +15% over the summer of 2014 with more than 420,000 passengers.