Airport second in Top 30 UK Airports for annual traffic growth
NORWICH, Monday 17th March 2014 – AIRPORT SECOND IN TOP 30 UK AIRPORTS FOR ANNUAL TRAFFIC GROWTH The positive trend for passenger traffic at Norwich International is confirmed in the latest CAA UK official UK airport annual traffic results released on 13th March 2014.
The report lists Norwich International as seventh in the UK for annual traffic growth 2013 compared to 2012 (for airport with annual traffic of twenty thousand passengers or more). Total passengers are listed at 463,401 versus 396,676 being a 17% increase in people from the region using the city’s airport year on year.
However, of the top 30 UK airports Norwich International growth is second overall for the percentage increase year on year.
The passenger boost was in a number of different sectors with the biggest increase being in the holidaymaker category which increased by 45% on 2012, with over 107,000 people enjoying the benefits of starting their holiday from their local airport.
Offshore helicopter traffic enjoyed yet another year of record growth with over 98,000 passengers travelling offshore, an increase of 18% on the previous year with Norwich now the UK’s second busiest offshore heliport after Aberdeen.
KLM’s hub feeder service to Amsterdam Schiphol had another strong year as a result of the addition of the fourth daily flight throughout the summer months. This service continues to play a key role in connecting the region’s economy to the rest of the world and the popularity of the service continues to grow with the region’s business and leisure travellers alike.
Andrew Bell, the airport’s Chief Executive commented, “Posting strong passenger growth is good news for the airport and the region, as ultimately the flights that are operated from the airport must be used by the travelling public if they are to remain on offer. We recognise that we still have a great deal to do in order to satisfy the demands of the region’s business and leisure travelers alike and we are working hard to bring back routes that proved popular in the past, and to identify new route opportunities. However, the CAA result, with Norwich second out of the top 30 UK airports, is testament to the hard work the airport has undertaken over the past few years and confirmation that Norwich Airport is moving in the right direction”.