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Passenger growth up 200% in 5 years

Fastest Growing Airport in the South West

The latest five year airport comparison figures published by the Civil Aviation Authority show that Exeter Airport is one of the fastest growing airports in the UK. The data from the CAA, the UK’s specialist aviation regulator, illustrates a growth of over 200% from 2002 to 2007 and that 1,012million arriving and departing passengers used Exeter Airport in 2007.

In the South West, the CAA figures show that Exeter’s five year growth was the fastest at 200.9%, followed by Bristol at 72.3% and Plymouth just 3.2%. Figures for Newquay were not published.

In terms of passenger numbers for last year Exeter is in the top half of UK ranked airport’s.There was however a loss of market share and a decline in the popularity for major airports such as Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham for the 2002 – 2007 period.

Commenting on the figures, Jamie Christon, Exeter Airport’s Deputy Managing Director said: “We are delighted that Exeter was the strongest growing airport in the South West. This growth in popularity is a clear indication that the air travellers of the region prefer to use Exeter Airport and are supportive of the airports expansion. From these figures we can see that Exeter stands out as the principle airport for Devon and Cornwall and we plan to support that demand in the coming years with more choice of routes and frequency.”