Bristol Airport had its busiest ever June last month with more than 625,000 passengers travelling through the terminal. 
The figure is 15,000 higher than the previous record set in 2008 and represents a 3.4% increase on the same month last year. This was despite the 2012 figure being boosted by a late Whitsun bank holiday and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Growth was recorded across all airline sectors but was particularly strong for scheduled flights to European destinations, with bmi regional’s new services to Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg performing particularly well.
KLM’s four-times daily service to Amsterdam also carried 12% more passengers than in the previous year, benefiting from the introduction of a larger Embraer 190 aircraft on the route.
Forecasts for the peak summer holiday season are positive, the airport said, with new or additional services to Corsica, Chania (Crete), Zurich and Dalaman (Turkey) expected to prove popular.
Aviation director Shaun Browne said: “We are delighted with June’s results, which demonstrate returning confidence in both the business and leisure travel markets.
“We will look to build on this successful first half of the year, and are already working hard on new initiatives for 2014 with new or additional services likely to be announced in the coming months.”
The airport’s passenger numbers rose for the third successive year in 2012, up 2.8% to 5.9m, making it the only airport in the UK’s top 10 to achieve growth each year since the end of 2009.
