Record passenger movements through Gibraltar International Airport

MORE services mean more passengers and for the first time ever, Gibraltar International Airport recorded more than 500,000 passengers in a year and in only 11 months!

The record 500,000 passenger figure was achieved on Thursday November 24, when the passenger departed on the easyJet EZY8902 service to London Gatwick Airport and by the end of November, the total number of passengers through the airport had reached 508,225.

Each month sees an increase of the same month in the previous year and had the Spanish authorities agreed to the concept of shared access and exit to the terminal as suggested several years ago, there is little doubt that the figure would have been much higher especially if flights to other Spanish cities and Ceuta had been implemented.

The down side to increased flights and passengers is the inevitable delay in entering and exiting Gibraltar every time the road across the runway is closed and this can’t really be laid at the door of the Spanish.

Once the long promised tunnel materialises then there is no doubt that life should become easier for commuters and visitors, assuming of course that the land border remains open and is not crippled by bureaucratic restrictions once Brexit becomes a reality.

In the meantime, Terence Lopez, Air Terminal Director at Gibraltar International Airport commented: “Breaking the half a million passenger mark was going to be a milestone in the history of the development of commercial development of Gibraltar International Airport and is a clear sign of our progress and capability.”

Gilbert Licudi QC MP, Minister for Commercial Aviation and Tourism added: “2016 continues to be a bumper year for aviation at Gibraltar International Airport, with double digit growth in every single month this year so far. Airline and consumer confidence in Gibraltar can be clearly seen with these results, with additional capacity programmed by the airlines being met by passenger demand.”