France’s Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport reports traffic growth in first quarter

The passenger traffic at France's Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport rose by 1.5% in the first quarter, compared with the same period in 2014.

Located in France's third largest city Lyon, the airport received around 1,825,408 passengers in the first quarter. The first two months witnessed the maximum traffic with an increase of 1.6% in January and 6% in February.

The shift in school holiday dates between 2014 and 2015 is said to have resulted in a dip of 2.3% in March.

International traffic has been the driving force for the airport's performance, with a 1.6% increase to 1,132,157 passengers.

Passengers from Europe grew by 1.5% and constituted 44% of all traffic at the airport.

While there was a 49% increase in the number of passengers from the East, African traffic fell by 3.1%. Traffic from Algeria and Tunisia grew by 2.2% and 5% respectively and that from Morocco fell by 12.3%.

Air freight continued to post good numbers with a 5.2% increase. Around 11 805.5t of goods were transported.

The airport transported 3,723t, 3,729t and 4,353t of cargo respectively in the first three months.

Although there was an increase in the overall passenger traffic, aircraft movements fell by 1.6%.

The airport's Tel Aviv route performed well with the launch of one daily flight in winter. The flights were increased to two in the beginning of April.

The country's national traffic and regional traffic also grew by 0.9% and 1.5% respectively.

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Image: The international passenger traffic at the Lyon-Saint Exupéry airport increased by 1.6%. Photo: courtesy of Aeroports de Lyon.