THE latest passenger figures for the airport have shown that this October has been the busiest in three years.
Figures showed that almost 63,700 passengers passed through the airport in October which is an increase of 3.8 percent over the same period in 2009.
It means October is the third busiest month this year after the traditional peaks of June and August.
Airport director Ann Reynolds said: "We have recently erred on the side of caution with our traffic predictions and, again, we had forecast a small decline in passengers for October. An increase of almost 4 percent is both unexpected and very welcome.
"The indications over the last three months are that, whilst the air travel market is certainly not rebounding, it is beginning to look more promising.
"I expect the next few winter season months to continue to be economically tough for the Airport and in particular for our airlines but I now have a little more confidence that 2011 will see improvements to air traffic to and from the Island."
Major growth was seen between the Isle of Man and North West England with the Liverpool route growing by nearly 3,300 passengers – 30 per cent.
Manchester also showed an increase over 2009 for the first time this year.
London passenger numbers were down by 3.3 percent although the Gatwick and Luton routes saw increases and the London City decrease was due to the use of a reduced capacity aircraft on the route.
London destinations were on average over two-thirds full indicating a return of some of the vital business traffic to the Isle of Man network.
More passengers flew to South West England and Scotland and the Dublin route also grew slightly.
Ann continued: "A key to the regeneration of passenger numbers on our route network, after over two years of general decline, is the revival of the core business traffic.
"The recession hit business traffic globally and it is taking Europe and the UK longer than expected to recover. Isle of Man business traffic is highly reliant upon the buoyancy of the UK as well as the continued development of Island business and there are indications that this key element is now beginning to return."
Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne MHK said: "It is encouraging to see that October traffic levels are close to pre-economic decline levels
"A sustained period of improvement is not only vital for the Airport - the success and diversity of our air services, with the connectivity they provide, are essential for the Island's economic success."
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