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Flying
It’s been a bumper year for aviation with new routes, record passenger numbers and regional airport expansion
The skies have been busy this past year with airline passenger numbers continuing to rise. Load factors are up, networks are being expanded and, as data released in July by ACI Europe – the trade body for airports in Europe – suggests, the sector has “turned the corner” since the pandemic.
Iata, the international airlines association, predicts
worldwide passenger numbers will hit a record 4.96 billion this year – a forecast supported by several airlines based on their performances up to August. They include Etihad Airways, which reported passenger numbers up 36%, Cathay Pacific setting a post-pandemic record the same month and low-cost Icelandic airline Play seeing its highest-ever load factor of 91.6%. However, rising fuel prices and restrictions on
airspace due to conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East remain significant challenges for the sector.
NEW ROUTES News of new routes is a regular occurrence. In September, British Airways and easyJet announced they were launching flights to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. BA will start its service from Heathrow on
Iata predicts global passenger numbers will hit a record 4.96 billion this year
March 30 after an absence of more than a decade, while easyJet’s flights from Luton will take off on April 1. It’s a vote of confidence in a growing destination, as well as a move for easyJet into the mid-haul arena. The budget carrier is also revving up to start
serving the Egyptian city of Luxor from Gatwick for the first time in more than a decade this winter. Plus, Oslo is on the list of new routes for the airline, with services from Manchester and Liverpool. Regional airports have been given a much-needed
boost this year. EasyJet is making Southend airport in Essex its 10th UK base from next spring, with routes including Pisa, Gran Canaria, Marrakech and Dalaman. Bournemouth, meanwhile, has surpassed pre-Covid passenger numbers, and its growth is set to continue next year when
Jet2.com adds 16 routes, making the airport its 12th British base. Elsewhere, Ryanair completed a record summer schedule for its three London airports – Gatwick, Luton and Stansted. The no-frills airline operated 200 routes, including seven new services, with links from Stansted to Basel and Dubrovnik, as well as from Luton to Treviso and Palma.
globetravelawards.co.uk
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