The year 2024 seems set to be one of record attendance at La Rochelle-Île de Ré airport. Gérard Pons, the president of the departmental joint union of Charentais-Maritime airports and Thomas Juin, the general director, in fact drew up this Tuesday, October 1, an assessment which they consider “very positive” of the summer season and, more generally, of first eight months of operation.
Once the Covid-19 crisis is over, the infrastructure is among those which are picking up again with 50,049 passengers in July and 55,096 in August, monthly records broken. From April to the end of August, the increase is 10.85% compared to the same period of last year, from January to the end of August, + 18.16%, for a total of 215,828 travelers.
The year 2023 ended with 246,867 passengers, almost as many as in 2018. And the stated ambition was then to exceed 250,000 in 2024. A bet which, barring disaster and despite the economic context , politically and internationally unstable, already seems practically won.
Professional motive
For the first time in its history, the airport offers four air connections during the winter period (from November to April). Over one year, the public service line in Lyon transported 29,837 passengers, including 22% for “professional reasons”. This is four times more than in 2022. The one on Porto continues. And the good start of the seasonal line to Marrakech, launched on June 4, leads Ryanair to maintain two direct flights per week out of season. From June to the end of August, 8,082 passengers boarded, for a seat occupancy rate of 81.7%.
Another satisfaction, for the infrastructure manager: the great success of the line to Marseille. The strong media exposure of the Marseille city, before and during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, contributes to this. But Thomas Juin notes that there are practically as many travelers who live in the Marseille region as in the attractive area of the La Rochelle airport (Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres and Vendée mainly). A balanced attendance which demonstrates a real and potentially lasting interest in the La Rochelle region and its surroundings.
Traffic stabilization is targeted for 2025. This does not prevent us from seizing opportunities to Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Lisbon or Strasbourg.
EasyJet did not restart its offer to Nice, however, this summer. However, “we are not abandoning this destination which has great potential”, assures Thomas Juin. A break which should not prevent domestic lines from overtaking, in terms of traffic, the British destinations which predominated until now.
The exceptional growth in traffic, with +7% of commercial flights but a “stable” number of landings and takeoffs (17,900 movements), all flights combined, pushes for moderate ambitions for 2025. “Above all, it will be necessary to consolidate attendance “. This does not prevent us from seizing development opportunities in Barcelona and Madrid, Rome, Lisbon or Strasbourg to meet demand. Please note that work to extend the pre-boarding area is planned. An investment of 270,000 euros.
