Ostend-Bruges Airport sees passenger numbers increase during the second quarter of 2021. Cargo figures also increase by 13.6% compared to the first three months of 2021.
“Our airport is seeing a nice recovery in passenger numbers. 28,000 passengers pass through our airport. This summer we expect these figures to rise further. People have clearly found their way to our airport. We are very happy with that,” says CEO Eric Dumas.
Passengers
At the beginning of April, the first flights to 5 Spanish destinations departed from Ostend airport. In May, flights to Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca were also rescheduled, allowing flights to 7 Spanish destinations again. “Until April 18, only essential journeys were allowed. After the travel ban was lifted, we saw a cautious recovery in passenger numbers. At that time, a large part of Spain was still red,” says CEO Eric Dumas.
Good occupancy rate
From May, more and more countries turned green and orange again on the map of Europe. “In May and June, we see a very good occupancy rate on the flights from our airport. The passengers have clearly found their way to our airport and the desire to travel. We are very happy about that.”
A total of 27,861 passengers travelled through Ostend airport in the second quarter. “We cannot compare these figures with 2019. Many destinations were not yet served in the second quarter.”
13 destinations this summer
The airport expects a further recovery this summer. “The number of destinations further expands from 7 to 13. Since the beginning of July, you can fly again from Ostend to the Greek destinations (Corfu, Kos, Heraklion, Chania and Rhodes) and Murcia and Eskisehir have also been added to the flight schedule. about 60,000 happy passengers this summer.”
Cargo
The good cargo results of the first quarter also continued. In April, May and June, our airport handled 13.6% more cargo compared to the first three months of the year. “EgyptAir and Qatar Airways operated many flights to and from our airport. Since May, our airport has also been part of the Qatar Airways route network. In addition, several humanitarian flights with relief supplies to India took place.”
In total, 12,335 tonnes of cargo was handled at our airport. That is a decrease of 30% compared to the exceptionally strong second quarter in 2020. At that time, the demand for cargo was very high and several airlines flew temporarily to our airport. Compared to 2019, we still see an increase of 127%. This means that Ostend airport will also record good growth in 2021.
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