There's hope for recovery as last month Ronaldsway recorded its first increase in passenger numbers since August 2008.

They went up by two per cent with almost 70,000 people passing through the airport.

The news has been cautiously welcomed by Airport Director Anne Reynolds.

She says the increase is heartening news at a time when they expected to see further declines, although she acknowledges a big part will have been played by the TT being held entirely in June this year, rather than one week in May and one in June.

Some routes - such as London City, Belfast and Blackpool - experienced significant increases, with the north west seaside resort topping the list at 77 per cent.

But Gatwick and Liverpool were both down 15 per cent while Manchester and Birmingham fell by six per cent.