Isle of Man Guide

The Airport passenger numbers for July increased by just five passengers over July 2010, effectively matching the 2010 level for the month. 63,520 passengers passed through the terminal, an increase of just 0.0079%!

As Airport Director, Ann Reynolds, explained, the result, given the underlying trend of recent shortfalls when compared with the previous year, still provides grounds for some cautious optimism. "As with many UK regional airports, traffic passing through the Isle of Man Airport has suffered for some time due to the tough economic situation in the UK. The matching of July 2010 last month follows a better-than-expected June, giving us some hope that passenger traffic is just beginning to show signs of recovery," she said. "However, we have to recognise that the buoyancy for the month primarily came from increases in north-west traffic and from the continued excellent performance of European charter flights during 2011. Many other regional routes continue to see declines, and it is in these areas that we would like to see consistent improved performance.”

The Liverpool route, with Flybe and easyJet operating up to 6 flights a day, led the way with a 20% increase in traffic, generating 2,560 more passengers than in July 2010. With only slight decreases on the Manchester and Blackpool routes, north-west traffic in total was up by almost 2140 passengers. Other routes with increases were the Manx2.com Belfast City service together with the summer service to Anglesey; Flybe's routes to Luton and Southampton and their Glasgow service operated by Loganair. Although notable decreases were recorded on many other routes such as Blackpool, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Gloucester, and Leeds, London City and Newcastle, these have been operating at reduced frequency or capacity compared with July 2010 as airlines have pared routes to match reduced demand.

As the chart shows, overall, progress during 2011 compared with 2010, as well as matching 2010 levels, is beginning to show signs of achieving expectation, taking into account the massive disruption due to the volcanic ash in April and May 2010. A substantial boost to passenger figures has been that the Island has enjoyed its best choice and number of Mediterranean holiday flights ever during 2011. After increases of 72% and 61% in May and June, July charter traffic was up again, this time by 57%. In total, the success of the direct Mediterranean flights from the Island has generated over 1,300 additional charter passengers over the past three months. These flights have been so successful that one tour operator, Atlantic Holidays, has introduced an additional flight to Madeira in October direct from the Isle of Man. Expectations are high for the Freedom Travel/Flybe May to September series to Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza which runs throughout the summer.

Phil Gawne, MHK, Minister of Infrastructure was particularly pleased with the support that Isle of Man residents have shown for the direct Mediterranean charter flights. "To be able to offer nine direct Mediterranean destinations from the Isle of Man throughout the year totalling over 2800 aircraft seats has demonstrated huge confidence in the Isle of Man market from our tour operators," he said. "However, Manx residents have responded magnificently to support this initiative and we are now looking towards the 2012 season with some confidence to be able to repeat, and perhaps improve upon this great program for 2011." The Minister continued “That said, we are committed to working with our scheduled operators to encourage residents to support the daily flights operating to and from the Isle of Man, as we need to ensure the range of scheduled destinations from the Isle of Man, for both the leisure and business markets.”

Please click below to access the monthly Air Traffic Summary for July 2011.

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