MORE than 57,000 passengers passed through the island’s airport during March –1,664 more than in the same month last year.
The figure represents a 3 per cent increase on that of March 2011.
Ann Reynolds, Isle of Man Airport’s director, welcomed the improvement, but was cautious about whether the growth could be sustained.
‘The steady improvement is encouraging and we have managed to maintain this for 11 out of the last 12 months, with only October 2011 registering a small decrease of under one per cent,’ she said.
‘However, the announcement by Aer Arann that they will cease the London City route is clearly a blow to the island and is bound to affect our ability to sustain growth over the coming months.
‘We are working hard to try to secure an alternative operation, but this is proving a challenge given the continued economic difficulties in the UK, as the route primarily supports business traffic. Nevertheless, we will keep trying as we are keenly aware of the importance of the link to the island’s business sector.’
Passenger figures for the 12 months ending in March this year showed an increase of 5.2 per cent, which equates to more than 35,000 extra passengers, mostly using North West England routes, which have seen an 11.5 per cent increase. Passengers flying to Liverpool have increased by 31,000 and Manchester has also seen a rise.
More than 8,000 passengers flew south and south west, which is an increase of 26 per cent, but this will have been hit by the ending of Flybe flights to Southampton earlier this year.
The Flybe Midlands link to Birmingham has also improved by 3.4 per cent over the past year and March figures were up by 9.2 per cent.
The Geneva service has produced one of the largest increases, with a 40 per cent rise in March and a 14 per cent increase overall for the past year. The Manx2.com routes to Newcastle, Leeds and Belfast all increased but London traffic has fallen by 2.4 per cent between 2011 and 2012 and is 5.5 per cent down for March. The Gatwick route improved, however, during March by 2 per cent.
Department of Infrastructure member David Callister MLC said good air service links were essential in attracting both business and tourism to the island, as well as being an asset for residents.
‘In the meantime, we are continuing to look at how the London market can be served and we hope to see progress with this over the coming weeks,’ he said.