Cornwall Airport Newquay saw 23% increase in passenger traffic in 2017

January 12, 2018: Cornwall Airport Newquay (CAN) has witnessed a significant 23 percent increase in passenger traffic by the end of 2017, making the Southwest gateway as the fastest growing airport in the UK for a second consecutive year.

Exceeding its previous strongest year in passenger numbers in 2008 and handling more traffic than ever before, CAN received over 453,795 passengers in 2017.

According to monthly breakdown, a major number of passengers were handled in July and August when CAN received a record 121,000 passengers, registering increase in traffic of 30 percent.

The end of the year saw the airport celebrate its best-ever December, recording 18 percent year-on-year growth largely due to Christmas flights from Birmingham and increase in services to Manchester during the festive period.

London Gatwick remained CAN's most-operated destination with 964 flights offering nearly 228,000 seats during 2017.

While the 1,511-kilometre sector to Faro was the utmost point served, the Isles of Scilly was the closest destination from the airport situated barely 104 km away.

With the airport expecting growth in passenger traffic to be maintained during 2018, Al Titterington, managing director of Cornwall Airport Newquay said: "Our passenger growth remains far higher than the average with little indication of slow down. One of the main focuses for the coming year is to gain a highly-desired link to London Heathrow. Following Heathrow's recent announcement in the reduction of domestic charges, it has become more achievable than ever before. The government had pledged its support for a third runway at LHR, and we have been a longstanding supporter of Heathrow expansion. The link would be transformational for Cornwall's economy and we are working closely with Heathrow Airport and our airline partners to try and make this happen. Such services will make Cornwall accessible on a global level, be that inbound (international) tourism or the export of goods and services, the impact would be significant. It would also provide a catalyst for discussion with potential new airlines operating from the Airport."

Cornwall is expected to see an enhancement in its connections to Germany during this year, when Eurowings' seasonal operation to Stuttgart joins the carrier's already established service to Dsseldorf, and Ryanair's link to Frankfurt Hahn.

Offering a 27 percent increase in seats to Germany for S18, Lufthansa's low-cost carrier will commence a weekly service to the German city on May 5, using the airline's A319 aircraft.