The volcano in Iceland which caused havoc recently is to blame for a massive drop in passenger numbers in an April traffic report released by airport owner MAp Group
(ASX:MAP) today.
Traffic at Brussels airport plunged 23% with numbers in Copenhagen down 19.2% for the month.
CEO Kerrie Mather says April traffic was impacted by the closure of large parts of European air space as a result of the volcanic ash cloud and the earlier timing of Easter.
Ms Mather says Brussels and Copenhagen have now returned to full operations and there is not expected to be a permanent impact on traffic.
It was a different story in Sydney however, with passenger numbers rising 6.4% in April thanks to an 8.6% increase in domestic travellers.
International travel at Sydney airport was only mildly impacted by the volcano, with numbers still managing to squeeze out a 1.5% rise.
Ms Mather says Sydney’s solid result can be attributed to a strong performance on domestic routes by Tiger Airways, Qantas and Jetstar, saying that competition on key routes and falling airfares have driven increased demand for business and leisure travel across Australia.
MAp Group fell into the red with a $572.7 million loss in 2009 after posting a profit of over $2 billion in 2008.
