The airport handled 9.4m passengers – a Q! record – and the number of aircraft movements increased to around 93,000. The cargo sector also showed improvement here, with the total airfreight turnover in the first three months of 2017 exceeding 85,000 tonnes, a surge of roughly 8% year-on-year.
The Q1 boost in passenger traffic at the hub was largely a result of growth in continental traffic, with European flights accounting for around 5.5m of the first quarter passenger figures, representing a 7% year-on-year rise. The airport reported that destinations in the western Mediterranean region, the UK and Eastern Europe were among the most popular destinations for travellers.
In the intercontinental segment, there was a 2% increase in first quarter numbers, with more than 1.6m passengers counted. Routes to the USA and Canada saw increases of 7% in traveller traffic, while destinations in the Middle and Far East yielded an 8% rise in volumes.
The domestic segment accounted for 2.3m passengers – a year-on-year increase of nearly 5%.
