Sogeal the administrative team of Alghero Airport announced last week that a total of 130,918 passengers passed through the airport in the month May. An increase of 18% for the same period over 2007. Ryanair traffic increased 33% (70,509 passengers) as well as a large increase in traffic from mainland Italy up over 26%.

The most interesting part of the latest statistics however is how the traffic comparisons with the other two airports on the island (Olbia in the East and Cagliari in the South).

Olbia Airport is the larger airport on the island however the month of May was a turning point where Alghero traffic exceeded Olbia for the first time by over 20,000 passengers. The increase of passenger on the West Coast of the island confirms the trend which has been apparent for the past few years and reconfirms the Alghero area as one of the most popular destinations in Sardinia.

It is expected that the growth will continue throughout the summer season. However a general warning has been issued by Ryanair, that it will be grounding 10% of it’s fleet throughout the Winter season due to soaring oil prices. No official announcements have yet been made with regards to how this may effect routes to Alghero.