the airport of Faro it has already transported, this year, 8 million passengers, an infrastructure record, which surpasses last year's total. For Desidério Silva, president of the Algarve Tourism Region, this is a «fantastic number», but one that does not allow «flag in an arc» as «we have to work to maintain the trend».
In statements to the Sul Informação, Desidério Silva recalls that, «in 2012, when I arrived at the RTA, the number of passengers would be around 5 million. In these five years, the airport had a great growth and, last October, the number of passengers surpassed the month of August 2015».
For the official, this is «a clear sign of the evolution of the airport and of everything that has been the evolution of air transport to the Algarve, with more routes and frequencies that have been created for various cities in the issuing markets».
In 2017, beyond Monarch's bankruptcy, Air Berlin has also closed its doors, but the closure of these two airlines does not mean that this year's numbers are unattainable in 2018.
“Air Berlin flights continued to be made with another company and we know that, in relation to Monarch, there are a number of operators that are capturing a large part of these passengers. In this case, there are more companies flying from the same cities. There are companies that have already increased frequencies, number of seats and we are in an adjustment process that will be in line with demand and supply», considers Desidério Silva.
The official believes that reaching 8 million passengers transported with more than a month before the end of the year is reason for “we are happy and appreciate this, but we cannot flag in an arc and we must continue to work to consolidate the trend. We have to work with Turismo de Portugal and the Secretary of State for Tourism so that there are negotiations with other companies, maintaining transport during the winter».
This, incidentally, was the main factor that led to the record number of passengers at the Airport of Faro, since there was an 'increase of passengers in the low season. In the months up to May, there was a 20% increase in passengers transported. We grew up where there was room to grow».
For Desidério Silva “more passengers at the airport mean more occupancy rate, more nights and more income and this is a very positive note for a territory that has the Airport as its main point of entry for tourists”.
Elidério Viegas, president of the Association of Hotels and Touristic Enterprises of the Algarve (AHETA), also heard by the Sul Informação, he agrees that the “increase in traffic is reflected in the growth of hotel occupancy rates”, but not as much as he would like.
In spite of, in October, the occupancy rate in the Algarve hotel industry reached the highest value in the last 18 years, Elidérico Viegas emphasizes that «in recent years we have been witnessing a higher growth in passenger traffic than in the growth of occupancy rates. This is due to the fact that the airport attracts non-tourist passengers”, contrary to what happened in the past.
According to the representative of the Algarve hoteliers, “passengers do not mean tourists. There is a significant percentage of passengers residing in the airport's catchment area. the airport of Faro it has air connections to the main European cities and this attracts a lot of traffic both from Spain and from Portuguese from the rest of the country».
Elidérico Viegas also recalls that “there was an increase in supply and that only this year will hotels reach the average annual occupancy rate they had at the turn of the century. We have more tourists, but there was more offer, which didn't count, and now counts for the [Local Accommodation] statistic. Therefore, we had 10% more tourists, but hotels only grew by 2%», he concludes.
To mark the milestone of 8 million passengers, the Airport of Faro received passengers on the Jet2.com flight from Birmingham, which arrived this Tuesday, at around 13:10 pm, «with moments of animation, sounds and regional performances that characterize the Algarve».
For Carlos Lacerda, CEO of ANA Aeroportos de Portugal, «this celebration is the culmination of the work carried out by the ANA team, in particular the one at the Airport of Faro which over the last few years has accompanied the growth and adaptation of this Airport to the needs of airlines and passengers, offering a better and more complete service without these adaptations having restricted growth».
Alberto Mota Borges, director of the Airport of Faro, considers that the celebration made with Jet2.com «has a great meaning for the Airport of Faro not only for the role this airline has played in promoting this airport and the region, but also for the commitment it continues to assume by extending these two new routes [London Stansted and Birmingham] in the current 2017/2018 winter season, which has solidified the efforts of the Airport and ANA | VINCI Airports to counter the tourist seasonality that characterizes the Algarve», he concludes.
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