Business

NI airports 85 per cent below normal levels in July

Passengers leaving Belfast International Airport in July. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Wire.
Passengers leaving Belfast International Airport in July. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Wire. Passengers leaving Belfast International Airport in July. Picture by Liam McBurney/PA Wire.

THE number of passengers passing through the north’s three main airports during July was 85 per cent below normal levels, new official data has shown.

Just 133,580 passengers flew throughout the month, less than 15 per cent of the of 915,258 recorded during July 2019, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.

The vast majority (103,921) of those who did fly during July, used Belfast International Airport.

The Aldergrove airport saw no commercial airline activity in April or May, after anchor airline EasyJet grounded its operations at the end of March. Flights eventually resumed on June 15.

Gatwick was the busiest route during July. But at 12,141, it was still 72 per cent down on July 2019.

Most active routes at Belfast International were operating at around 25 per cent normal levels.

Belfast City Airport was reduced to little more than a Heathrow operation during July, with 93 per cent of its 22,976 July passengers taking the London air route.

Activity has significantly ramped at the east Belfast airport up in recent days, with flights reopening to Birmingham, Manchester, London City and Edinburgh, which were Flybe’s busiest routes prior to its collapse in early March.

City of Derry Airport recorded 6,683 passengers in July, just a third of the 19,281 who flew in the same month last year.