Glasgow Prestwick Airport reports
increased passenger and freight numbers

GLASGOW PRESTWICK AIRPORT’S performance in May saw year-on-year and month-on-month increases in the number of passengers handled.


[Pictured: Glasgow Prestwick Airport chief executive Mark Rodwell.]

A total of 221,840 passengers used the airport during May – this represents rises of 2.5% on May 2007 and 12% on April’s performance.

The main driver for the positive year-on-year variance is increased capacity on a number of existing routes and new Ryanair and Wizz Air destinations, introduced since May last year.

These new destinations include Belfast, Budapest, Cork, Katowice and Poznan, while Ryanair have recently announced three new routes for the coming winter – Malaga, Tenerife and Faro.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport also handled 2,704 tonnes of freight during May, representing an increase of 5% on May 2007.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport chief executive Mark Rodwell said: “This is a pleasing result in what is a challenging economic environment, and paves the way for what we anticipate will be a successful summer.”

www.glasgowprestwick.com

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Glasgow Prestwick Airport wins top cargo award

By: Neil Richardson

AYRSHIRE’S Glasgow Prestwick Airport has won a top industry award for its cargo capability at a glittering ceremony in London.

The airport triumphed at the 25th annual Air Cargo News awards which took place in the Royal Lancaster Hotel.

More than 500 of the industry’s top executives from all over the world were in attendance to see Glasgow Prestwick named Best Cargo Airport (up to 100,000 tonnes per year).


[Pictured: Allan McQuarrie (left) and Nico Le Roux, who make up the airport’s Freight Development Team, with the trophy.]

Nico Le Roux and Allan Macquarie, who are in charge of Freight Development for Infratil Airports Europe, received the award on behalf of the airport.

The award winners have to meet a number of criteria related to volume growth and marketing activity, before the views of industry experts are taken into account when deciding the final results.

Nico Le Roux, Group Manager Freight Development, said: “It is a fantastic achievement for us to win this as it is right up there with the industry’s top awards, and shows just how highly Glasgow Prestwick is regarded by the people who matter.

“The last year has seen an improvement in volume after the market suffered a difficult couple of years.

“Cargo operators are attracted by the airport’s perfect geographical location, fast turnaround times and our team’s ability to easily handle large and unusual items.”

The recognition comes only days after Glasgow Prestwick announced a strong cargo performance for the year ending March 2008.

A strong emphasis upon freight development has paid off for Glasgow Prestwick, which currently handles around 20 Boeing 747 freighters during an average week.

The March total of 3,260 tonnes marks a 5% improvement on March 2007 and a 34% increase on February’s total.

Freight has also increased year on year with the 31,735 tonnes handled between April 2007 and March 2008 representing a 4% increase on the previous 12 months.

www.glasgowprestwick.com

www.aircargonews.net

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Glasgow Prestwick Airport reports increasing
passenger numbers and freight figures

By: Neil Richardson

Glasgow Prestwick Airport’s performance in March signalled a strong end to the 2007/08 financial year.


The Ayrshire airport handled 192,142 passengers in March against 180,978 during the same month in 2007 - a year on year rise of 6%, and a 16% improvement on February’s performance.

Glasgow Prestwick handled 2,426,630 passengers from April 2007 to March 2008 – a marginal improvement on last year’s total.

New destinations that have started operating from the airport in the last year include Katowice, Belfast, Budapest, Cork and Poznan, with several of the new links exclusive to Scotland.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport chief executive Mark Rodwell said the results once again demonstrate the importance of the airport to the Ayrshire and Scottish economies, particularly in terms of tourism and employment.

It is only weeks since Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond attended the launch of an economic study which found that inbound visitors using Glasgow Prestwick generate £173 million of expenditure, while the airport’s presence accounts for 3,000 jobs in Scotland.


Mark Rodwell (pictured above) commented: “It is pleasing to see growth in the passenger sector, particularly after we discovered how important foreign visitors are to the Ayrshire and Scottish economies.

“Several new services have been introduced over the last 12 months and are performing well, which is encouraging as we move towards the peak summer season.”


A strong focus on developing the freight business is also starting to pay off, with the airport now breaking the 3,000 tonne barrier on a more regular basis.


The March total of 3,260 tonnes marks a 5% improvement on March 2007 and a 34% increase on February’s total.

Freight has also increased year on year with the 31,735 tonnes handled between April 2007 and March 2008 representing a 4% increase on the previous 12 months.

www.glasgowprestwick.com

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