France’s Lyon Airport has crossed the nine million passenger mark for the first time, with 9,553,250 passengers travelling through the gates of the airport in 2016.
Last year, the airport experienced the largest growth of this kind for a French airport, recording a 9.8% rise in passenger traffic compared to 2015.
The airport handled a 12.5% growth in international traffic last year, accounting for 6,351,780 passengers or 66.5% of the total amount of traffic.
The strong growth was driven by the enhanced capabilities of existing routes, in addition to the launch of 20 new routes.
In June last year, routes to Moscow, operated by Aeroflot, and Montreal, operated by Air Canada, were launched at the airport.
In 2016, domestic traffic increased by 5.2% with a total of 3,146,938 passengers travelling through the airport.
The rise in domestic passenger volumes was driven by the popularity of destinations such as Bordeaux, Nantes, Nice and Toulouse, which recorded a total growth of 6.6%.
Low-cost traffic accounted for 34.4% of passengers, marking a 25.4% rise compared to 2015, which could have been due to 16 new destinations served by low-cost airlines from the airport in 2016.
For a fifth consecutive year, air freight at Lyon Airport recorded a double-digit growth.
More than 59,407t of air freight was transported through the airport, marking a rise of 11.8% compared to 2015.
Express freight grew by 12%, while long-haul flights registered an increase of 28% compared to 2015.
Image: Lyon Airport handled 9,553,250 passengers throughout 2016. Photo: courtesy of Aéroports de Lyon.
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