Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport pax stabilises in 2012 after 5 years of strong growth, LCC share at 22%

France's Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport reported (17-Jan-2013) passenger numbers increased 0.2% to 8.5 million in 2012 after five years of strong growth from an 8.4% increase in 2007 to a 5.7% rise in 2011. The 0.2% increase compared with 2011 keeps the airport in third place among French airports in terms of passengers, after the Paris airports and Nice Airport. International traffic, which increased 2% to 5.3 million passengers, remained the mainspring for the airport platform's growth, up 2% to 62.2% of total passenger traffic. Domestic traffic fell 1.7% to 3.1 million in 2012. In the domestic market, easyJet continued to perform well and is increasing traffic to the destinations it serves in France. At the same time, however, Air France's reduction in passenger capacity on these same routes, in particular with changes in the types of plane, has had a negative impact on the figures. During the year, LCC traffic accounted for 22% of total traffic after a 4.5% year-on-year increase in LCC traffic. The airport stated the first phase of its terminal one and three extension will be constructed between 2012 and 2016, and by 2020, the airport's passenger capacity in the new area will reach 10 million. [more - original PR]