Kent Shares in Infratil’s Success
May 9, 2008
Confidence at Kent International Airport is high following a significant rise in the level of freight being handled and the start of the 2008 charter holiday season with flights serving 8 destinations.
During March the team at Kent International handled 3,602 tonnes of in-bound freight - an improvement of 992 tonnes and 38% on the same time last year. The airport also announced it had handled 32,624 tonnes of freight during the 2007/8 financial year, up 26% up on the previous year's total, with all scheduled carriers showing an increase on their previous year's freight performance.Kent International Airport is built upon strong commercial foundations, a fact reinforced by news that Infratil, the airport's parent company, has just broken into the NZX 10 Index, the largest and most frequently traded shares in New Zealand companies.
The airport also reported that the number of people it directly employs has increased by 15% since December 2006 to 93, with other airport-based employers taking the total to more than 100.
Matt Clarke, Chief Executive of Kent International Airport said: "The last 12 months have been significant with the recruitment of more people, investment in our freight handling facilities and the launch of new charter routes to exciting and popular destinations for Kent holidaymakers."
This month has also seen Kent Escapes' first charter flight depart for Majorca, which will be closely followed by the inaugural flight to Jersey operated by Channel Islands Travel. Newmarket Holidays, one of the UK's largest independently owned specialist tour operators, is offering popular vacations such as Austria, Croatia, Madeira and Malta.
Infratil's other UK investment, Glasgow Prestwick Airport, also reported a strong performance in March signalling a strong end to the 2007/08 financial year.
The Scottish airport handled 192,142 passengers in March against 180,978 during the same month in 2007 - a year on year rise of 6%, and a 16% improvement on February's performance.
Glasgow Prestwick handled 2,426,630 passengers from April 2007 to March 2008 - a marginal improvement on last year's total. New destinations that have started operating from the airport in the last year include Katowice, Belfast, Budapest, Cork and Poznan.
Matt Clarke added: "Our ambition is to emulate the success of Glasgow Prestwick at Kent International. A recent economic study found that inbound visitors using Glasgow Prestwick spent £173 million last year, while the airport's presence accounts for 3,000 jobs in Scotland."
