Belfast City Airport reports rising passenger numbers :: 08/10/2009 :: Airport Parking News
City Airport posts a 8.3% rise in traffic compared to August 2008
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Belfast City Airport reports rising passenger numbers
Thursday, 8th October 2009
Unlike most UK airports which have seen passenger numbers tumble in the recent months, Belfast City Airport has recorded an 8.3% rise in passenger traffic for the month of August.
According to statistics released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), this is the largest increase among UK airport catering to a million or more passengers annually. Belfast City Airport's 240,834 figure was up 8.3% on passenger numbers in August 2008.
On the other hand, Belfast International Airport, like most other airports in the UK, recorded a dip in passenger numbers for the same period. A 15.3% drop was recorded by Belfast International in August.
Belfast City also trumped Belfast International over the entire 2009 period until August. The City airport recorded the same level of passenger numbers as last year, while the International airport saw its numbers nosedive by 11.1%.
Passenger numbers at Belfast City airport have remained strong despite an overall decline in flight numbers. Chief Executive of Belfast City Airport, Brian Ambrose has named a number of reasons for the airport's success. He points out that the City airport's excellent location in Belfast is a key factor, but also gave credit to its strong partner airlines and the continuing private investment by the airport's owners.
The investments have gone a long way to improve airport infrastructure and customer satisfaction. Ambrose added that the airport is now undergoing a terminal enhancement costing £6 million. The work on the terminals is expected to be completed early in 2010.
Belfast City Airport's excellent performance has come at a time when a difficult economic situation has led to several major UK airports to record double-digit decreases in passenger traffic. These include Liverpool and Manchester in England, and Glasgow in Scotland.
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