Following a great start to the season where it recorded its busiest April ever– Cornwall Airport Newquay (CAN) continues to witness a remarkable surge in its passenger traffic having experienced a soaring summer performance.
Hitting a new high last month, CAN handled a record 61,000 passengers during August, a significant traffic increase of 30%. The Airport growth this summer is more than triple the EU average of 8% and it is firmly on course to reach its 600,000 to 650,000 annual capacity limits.
Last year’s all-time high saw the Airport experience a noteworthy 48% year-on-year increase: “I’m extremely optimistic that this strong positive trend in our rapid traffic expansion will continue for the rest of this year, seeing us achieve yet more outstanding results,” enthuses Al Titterington, Managing Director, Cornwall Airport Newquay. “Our passenger traffic has also resulted in us posting further record figures in the first five months of the financial year (April to August). We’ve welcomed 260,279 passengers, a 25% increase in traffic numbers” added Titterington.
In part driven by the Airport’s new routes, the continual passenger growth has been powered by the ongoing success of existing and well-established services. Flybe, CAN’s largest airline partner (in terms of weekly seats) has already handled more than 185,000 passengers this financial year, recording a 23% increase. With the airline’s busiest link from Cornwall continuing to be London Gatwick, Flybe’s flight to Manchester has seen a sizeable 38% increase, while its Birmingham service has jumped by 14%. Handling more than 40,000 passengers so far, Ryanair is close to doubling its customer base at CAN, while Aer Lingus Regional has also seen a notable 18% increase in passenger traffic.
With these significant results, Titterington will be heading to Barcelona later this month, where he will attend the World Routes conference – an event where airports and airlines meet to determine future new air services – continuing in his pursuit of attracting a hub connection with the likes of British Airways, KLM or Lufthansa.