The H1 results for 2018 see Bordeaux passing a milestone with more than 3 million passengers transported since the beginning of the year, and year-to-date growth of 6.2% Bordeaux Airport achieved a new record in June with 669,000 passengers. This healthy 6.5% growth was largely driven by international flights which represent more than half of all traffic at the airport (384,500 travellers and 17.4% growth). The low-cost airlines also progressed by 17.4% (371,000 passengers). Domestic flights dropped by 5.5%
[Traffic was also boosted by a major event in June: around 800,000 people were present for the Bordeaux Wine Festival which took place from 14 to 17 June. Numerous foreign visitors, mostly from English-speaking countries and Spain, came to enjoy the region’s wine heritage. For its 20th year, the Bordeaux Wine Festival also saw the arrival of a legendary yacht race, the Tall Ships Regatta.]
International flights posted strong growth with +17.4% and 385,000 monthly passengers.
Faro recorded one of the month’s best performances, with 83.3% growth. Long-haul flights to Montreal increased by 25.7%, carrying more than 5,700 passengers in the month. Many routes recorded outstanding, double-digit results.
Spain took pride of place with Malaga (+58.7%), Tenerife (+56.2%), Palma de Mallorca (+51.4%), Seville (+23.6%) and Barcelona (+21.9%). North European countries also made an excellent start to the summer. The British Isles posted some strong increases: Belfast (+83.2%), Liverpool (+29.2%), London (+26.6%) and Dublin (+21%). Germany also made excellent progress, with Frankfurt (+67%), Munich (+21.2%) and Berlin (+12.3%) The sun shone on Mediterranean destinations too: Malta (+68.8%), Olbia (+50.8%), Santorini (+39%) and Palermo (+16%). North African destinations still find favour with travellers from Bordeaux: Tunis (+28.3%), Fez (+22%), Marrakesh (+18.3%) and Oran (+15.8%).
The spotlight is also on the excellent results of the intercontinental hubs: Zurich traffic increased 8-fold, Frankfurt passengers tripled, Casablanca grew by 27.9%, Istanbul by 19.3% and Madrid by 11.7%, while Brussels was up 3.5%.
Domestic traffic was down 5.5%, this drop is due to the decrease in Paris traffic (-26.8%). Sunny Corsica recorded very bright figures for the start to the summer: Ajaccio (+34.6%), Bastia (+33.1%). Flights to other provincial cities also did well: Toulon (+64.3%), Brest (+41.1%), Lille (+34.6%), Nice (+21.9%), Marseilles (+8.8%) and Lyons (+3.4%).
Traffic for low-cost airlines remained strong with a 17.4% rise to 371,000 passengers. Once again, easyJet came out on top in terms of volume, carrying approximately 200,000 passengers for a 12% increase in June, while Volotea posted the strongest growth, with 18.5%.