Having closed 2017 with a 23% increase from the previous year in passenger traffic, Cornwall Airport Newquay (CAN) has experienced its third consecutive year of double-digit growth and has become the UK’s fastest growing airport for a second consecutive year.
The gateway to the UK’s Southwest, CAN welcomed a total of 453,795 passengers in 2017, with the greatest number of passengers handled in July and August, when 121,000 passengers travelled through the airport. December was also a record-breaking month at the airport with 18% year-on-year growth primarily due to the Christmas flights to/ from Birmingham and a doubling of services to Manchester over the festive period.
CAN’s most popular destination with 964 flights throughout 2017 was London Gatwick, while the 1,511km link to Faro was the furthest point served.
Commenting on how he expects the growth in passenger traffic to continue throughout 2018, Al Titterington, CAN’s MD stated: “Our passenger growth remains far higher than the average with little indication of slowing down. It’s a credit to all those committed to ensuring we remain a popular destination with an efficient airport.”
With year-round flights to Gatwick, Manchester, Leeds Bradford, Dublin and the Isles of Scilly, CAN also operates seasonal routes in the summer with various carriers, including Flybe, Eurowings and Ryanair to Belfast, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Birmingham, London Stansted, Aberdeen, Doncaster, Sheffield, Glasgow, Liverpool, Cork, Düsseldorf, Alicante, Faro and Frankfurt Hahn.
Passengers travelling from Cornwall will see an enhancement to the airport’s connections with Germany this year, when Eurowings’ seasonal operation to Stuttgart is added to the carrier’s established service to Düsseldorf and Ryanair’s link to Frankfurt Hahn. Lufthansa’s low-fare carrier will commence its weekly service to the German city of Stuttgart in May using an A319 aircraft.
Following London Heathrow’s (LHR) recent announcement in the reduction of domestic charges, Titterington also revealed that one of the main focuses for the coming year will be to gain a highly-desired link to London Heathrow.
The Government has stated 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 Ltd 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.
