Regional airport passenger numbers top 100m

The growth of regional airports has been confirmed with the announcement that passenger numbers have passed the 100 million-mark for the first time, new figures from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reveal.

The CAA's findings represent a three fold rise in travellers since 1990, when just Birmingham and Manchester offered flights on international routes.

As the travel sector has boomed, however, there are now eight regional airports offering daily flights to international destinations.

Harry Bush of the CAA said: "Regional airports have continued to develop new services rapidly and have put themselves firmly on the map as gateways for travel to and from the regions they serve.

"There are connections to business as well as leisure destinations in Europe and further afield, including services to hub airports in Europe, the US and Middle East which allow numerous onward connections."

The largest increases were noted at terminals in the South West, with Bristol Airport's passenger numbers rising from 800,000 in 1990 to 5.7 million last year.

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