Passenger numbers at Ronaldsway Airport last month were back on track, after the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland saw them drop by nearly a quarter in April 2010.

The Department of Infrastructure says they showed a year-on-year rise of 25.5 per cent, which not only wiped out the deficit from 2010, but also reversed the overall downturn in the first quarter of this year.

The first four months of 2011 have seen a 4.4 per cent increase in passengers, but the department says the underlying trend shows air traffic is still struggling to recover, with the United Kingdom's leisure market badly affected by the recession there.

And airport director Ann Reynolds says, despite the encouraging signs, the figures are disappointing when compared with forecasts.

One route which exceeded expections last month was Liverpool, with Flybe and EasyJet carrying over 13,000 passengers between them, an increase of 75 per cent!