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ARCHIVED - Passenger numbers at Alicante-Elche airport still 74 per cent lower than two years ago
22 per cent of passengers in June were on domestic flights and only 11.7 per cent on UK services
The latest data published by airport management company Aena this week reveal that the number of passengers flying into or out of Alicante-Elche airport in June was a remarkable 1,312 per cent higher than in the same month last year, but rather than pointing to an outstanding period of growth this merely illustrates the degree to which air travel has been decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.
The fact is that last June the airport in El Altet was hardly operative and during the month there were just 28,739 passengers. In reality, the 405,799 passengers passing through the terminal building this June were far fewer than in the last year before the pandemic: in 2019 the June figure was over 1.5 million, meaning that in realistic terms the latest data indicate a drop of 73.6 per cent.
Of course, the pandemic has led to similar decreases at all of Spain’s airports, but due to its reliance on international tourism Alicante-Elche continues to show one of the most dramatic losses in terms of passenger numbers, despite the fact that the latest monthly total is by some distance the highest so far this year as the travel industry gradually recovers.
One of the most important factors contributing to the loss of passengers is the lack of flights between the Costa Blanca and the UK. During June 2019 these routes carried 622,000 passengers, and last month the total was just 47,472, representing a decrease of almost 93 per cent.
While UK routes accounted for 11.7 per cent of all passengers during the month, domestic services contributed another 22.5 per cent, and the figure for the UK was only marginally higher than those for Belgium and Germany (11 per cent each). The Netherlands accounted for another 9.5 per cent and other significant proportions related to Sweden, France and Poland.
Of course, it is hoped that the lifting of restrictions by the British government will bring about an upturn in flights, and in mid-July there are now far more services in operation as the number of destinations on the arrivals and departures boards at Alicante-Elche increases.