Denise Milani Skins .

Air traffic in Santiago de Compostela

In line with data from the Institute of Tourism Studies, which estimated at five million foreign visitors in 2009 Spain lost the Santiago airport had its Achilles' heel of international traffic. Faced with more than 348,000 users Lavacolla who flew to other countries in 2008, last year not even reached 250,000. Despite this negative data, Compostela Airport resisted the storm of the crisis last year in a very remarkable: he was one of only five airports in the Aena network, which closed the year with positive figures, and is the more traffic in that select group.

The keys to good statistical behavior Lavacolla own name: Ryanair and Barajas. The Irish low cost carrier made in late 2008 and a commitment to domestic connections from the terminal Compostela, and went in with low prices on flights to Madrid, forcing other companies to also lower their rates to compete. The result was that Barajas presumably spent 31% of traffic Lavacolla in 2008 to touch the 41% last year, winning nearly two hundred thousand users.

These older passengers to offset those who have lost the rest of the connections. Thirty-seven thousand passengers at Valencia, 23,000 to Gran Canaria, 20,000 in London, 26,000 to Palma de Mallorca, 17,000 on trips to Barcelona, \u200b\u200b15,000 in Rome, 3,500 to Tenerife ... Reus only as a new addition, added nearly 72,000 the annual accounts of users Lavacolla.

Ryanair has become, in large part due to connections to Barajas, the first company in Compostela Airport, advancing for the first time in Iberia. In 2009 the Irish airline carried more than half a million people through the terminal Compostela, which accounts for 26% of the total. The English company, however, which last year accounted for 25% of airport users, their role was reduced to 24%.

The merger of Vueling and Clickair not made progress in the market share of both airlines, but quite the opposite. Vueling supposed in 2008 to 12% of passengers Lavacolla, which added to the Clickair reached 18%. Last year the two companies, which merged in July, totaled only 14% of the passengers who received the Compostela Airport.