Norwich Airport has continued its recovery from the covid pandemic with passenger numbers increasing in the last financial year.
In the 12 months to the end of March 2024 the airport welcomed 353,000 passengers, up 2% on the previous year, cementing its role as a popular regional airport for leisure travel.
The airport, which employs 224 people, is also the gateway to the southern North Sea for the offshore energy industry and plays a key role in supporting the region’s wider aviation ecosystem with pilot training, military operations and the maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft.
The figures contributed to a 15% increase in passenger numbers for parent company Regional & City Airports (RCA), which saw more than 1.75m passengers use its airports during the year.
As well as Norwich, the group owns Bournemouth and Exeter Airports and holds a management contract for Solent Airport.
The Norwich figures do not reflect the start of Ryanair’s first ever flights from the airport in April as this was outside of year-end. Ryanair has added 60,000 seats this summer with new routes to Malta, Alicante and Faro, putting the airport on track to surpass pre-covid passenger numbers of half a million.
Ryanair has already confirmed that it will continue the Alicante route through the winter.
Norwich Airport managing director Richard Pace said: “We’re delighted to see continued passenger growth at Norwich and the addition of new routes further underscores our commitment to providing more choices and better connectivity for the region, supporting hundreds of skilled jobs as a major aviation hub.”
To view the full Norwich Airport schedule see here.
