Curaçao Airport Partners reports positive 2nd Quarter 2015 traffic figures
Curaçao Airport Partners (CAP) reports positive passenger traffic figures for the 2nd quarter 2015 at Curaçao International Airport. Total passenger movements are 3% higher for the 2nd quarter 2015 compared to the 2nd quarter 2014. Similar to the 1st quarter 2015 results, arriving and international departing passengers increased with 2% and 3% respectively in the 2nd quarter of 2015 compared to the 2nd quarter 2014. Domestic departures, those to the Dutch Caribbean islands, remained flat compared to 2nd quarter of 2014 and transferring passengers, those passengers that do not have Curaçao as their final destination, increased by 5% compared to 2nd quarter 2014.
During the 2nd quarter 2015, European passengers grew by 3% compared to the 2nd quarter 2014 due to additional seat capacity. The impact of the additional service from JetBlue out of New York drives the growth in passengers from the United States by 15% during the 2nd quarter 2015 compared to the 2nd quarter 2014. The transfer market remains volatile due to the economic and political situation in Venezuela and showed a modest growth during the 2nd quarter 2015 compared to the 2nd quarter 2014. The Latin American market decreased by -12% during the 2nd quarter 2015 compared to the 2nd quarter 2014. The decrease is caused by Venezuela; even with InselAir and Avior adding service from Venezuela during this quarter. Stayover passengers from Venezuela declined by -28% during the 2nd quarter 2015 compared to the 2nd quarter 2014. Colombia showed an increase of 5% in stay over passengers during the 2nd quarter 2015 compared to the 2nd quarter 2014.The Colombian leisure market is expected to further grow due to the cancellation of the visa requirement.
“Passenger traffic continues to develop positively but mostly in the European and US markets, even though June, typically a soft month, was challenging for Curaçao. The outlook for the summer and the fall are strong”, Ralph Blanchard, CEO CAP said. “Together with our partners CTB and CHATA, analyzing the trends and the business outlook for the remainder of 2015, we will have a successful year”.