Strong recovery in traffic at Roland-Garros airport

During the first eight months of the year, Roland-Garros airport welcomed 1,746 million passengers, including 34,000 in transit, i.e. an increase of 22% compared to 2022 and 7,8% compared to 2019. The milestone of one million passengers was reached in August on the lines between metropolitan airports (Orly, Roissy, Marseille and Lyon) and Reunion, or 6,3% better than in 2019. An increase of 2,1% is also recorded compared to 2022, year during which the French destination further benefited from the slow reopening of air borders between the countries of the Indian Ocean. Attendance on regional lines is increasing sharply (+66 %) since the start of the year compared to 2022 and exceeds the 2019 level by 10%. The two main drivers of this progression are the lines to Mayotte and Mauritius., which now represent, on their own, 80% of regional traffic handled by Roland-Garros airport. Services to South Africa, Seychelles and Comoros have, for their part, returned to a level of activity comparable to or slightly higher than that before the health crisis. Recovery is slower towards Madagascar, due to a decreasing supply of seats : the number of passengers between Reunion and the Big Island remains 15% lower than in 2019. Only international long-haul line departing from Roland-Garros airport since the interruption of the connection to Chennai last May, the Saint-Denis–Bangkok connection, reopened in 2022, attracted nearly 34,000 passengers from January to August 2023 : 21% better than in 2019. During the high season of July-August 2023, the number of passengers increased by 4,7% compared to 2022 and 7,6% compared to 2019. If traffic fell by 6,8% in July and 4,6% in August on the Hexagon-Reunion axis, where companies offered less capacity than last year, it increased by 26% on regional lines compared to 2022 and by 14% compared to 2019. The Réunion-Mayotte link confirms its dynamism, and attendance on the Réunion-Maurice line has started to rise sharply again, exceeding the results of July-August 2019. Another popular destination for Reunion Islanders, Thailand attracted 24% more passengers during this holiday period than in 2019.