Ben-Gurion Airport. Significant increase in passengers from Russia
Photo: Yariv Katz
Ben-Gurion Airport sees rise in passenger traffic in February
Despite drop in incoming tourism, 820,848 travelers passed through Israel's international airport last month, a 2.4% increase from February 2014.
Despite the drop in incoming tourism to Israel, passenger traffic at Ben-Gurion Airport increased by 2.4% in February compared to the same period last year. A total of 820,848 arriving and departing passengers passed through the airport on international flights last month.
El Al Israel Airlines
recorded the highest number of passengers in February – nearly 290,000 – a 10% increase. About 35% of the passengers who passed through Ben-Gurion Airport on international flights in February were El Al passengers.
The most interesting figure is the increase in passengers from Russia. Despite the economic crisis in the country, Russian companies Aeroflot and Rossiya Airlines recorded a significant growth (56% and 38%, respectively) in the number of passengers they carried from Israel to different destinations in Russia.
Popular Destination
Danny Sadeh
With 869,343 overnight stays by Israeli tourists in 2014, Jewish state is sixth source market for Germany among countries outside Europe.
US is the most popular destination for direct flights from Israel (Photo: Yaron Brener)
easyJet, which is the second most active foreign airline in Israel after Turkish Airlines, recorded a 24% growth in its number of passengers last month, mainly due to the addition of new destinations. Other airlines with positive figures included Germanwings (an 85% increase), Norwegian (77%), Air Canada (44%), Brussels Airlines (43%), Ethiopian (35%), Air Berlin (16%), Iberia (16%) and Lufthansa (14%).
Niki, a subsidiary of Air Berlin, recorded a 66% drop in its number of passengers to and from Israel. Other airlines with negative figures include Turkish Airlines (a 16% drop), Delta Air Lines (21%), Austrian (23%) and Royal Jordanian (37%). Arkia recorded a 24% drop on its international routes.
The most popular destination for direct flights from and to Israel was the United States with 11.7% of all passengers who passed through Ben-Gurion Airport last month, followed by Germany with 9% of all passengers, Turkey (8%), Russia (7.5%) and England (7.5%).
