El Altet starts to take off

But credit crunch hits flights at San Javier

By T Cain and N Pérez
EL ALTET airport in Alicante has been named the fifth busiest in Spain due to the number of flights being operated by low fare airline Ryanair and the number of tourists visiting the Costas from Northern Europe.

Figures released this week show the airport handled 883,763 passengers in October, the fourth month in a row it has produced better than expected results.

This has been put down to the fact that the Nordic travel market during the winter season has picked up and Ryanair is offering flights to 50 European destinations as well as to North Africa from Alicante.

Despite starting the year with a fall in passenger numbers of around 20 per cent, the airport has managed to turn things around and not only put the brakes on the fall but regain its momentum and steadily increase passenger numbers.

Read more in this weeks Costa Blanca News edition

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