Aéroports de Lyon had a great 2016, it has been announced. The Airport went over the 9 million passenger mark for the first time in the airport’s history. This means that Lyon’s airport has had a 9.8% increase in passenger traffic throughout the year. This significant increase in passenger numbers is the largest of its kind in relation to all other French Airports.

It was announced that last year, Lyon welcomed 9,553, 250 passengers. It is thought that the increase in passengers is down to the 12.5% increase in international traffic in 2016 compared to 2015. International traffic in and out of Lyon Airport made up 6,351,780 of the total passengers using the airport. That is 66.5% of the total traffic.

Every continent served by Lyon Airport has had an increased number of passengers which has led to the record breaking year for the airport. This means that the French airport has benefitted from the expansion of other airports such as the 20 new destinations offered by Moscow’s airport.

In a more detailed breakdown of the data, Domestic traffic was increased by 5.2% in 2016. Lyon is an appealing place to travel in to when going to popular holiday destinations such as Bordeaux, Nantes, Nice and Toulouse. It might also be worth consideration that the Football tournament UEFA Euro 2016 was held in France, with some of the group stages being held in travelling distance from Lyon Airport.

There was also an increase in freight traffic. There was a double digit increase in freight traffic for Lyon’s Airport. This growth has occurred for the fifth consecutive year. There was an 11.8% increase in comparison to 2015. This means that a total of 59,407 tonnes were transported through this airport. However, the increase in traffic has not affected the environmental impact of the airport. This has remained controlled with only a 1.8% increase.