Roland-Garros airport welcomed 1,180,260 passengers in 2021, half as much as in 2019 but 13,5% more than in 2020. The recovery trend was only confirmed on services to mainland France and Mayotte, from July. Regional traffic in Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros and South Africa, gradually restarting in the second half, remains disrupted by numerous constraints linked to the pandemic. From January to December, 978,381 people traveled between mainland France and Reunion Island. If it is a third lower than in 2019, the 2021 figure is up 27% compared to 2020. Long-haul traffic between metropolitan airports (Orly, Roissy, Lyon and Marseilles) and Reunion Island represented nearly 84% of the total activity of Roland-Garros airport, compared to 59% in 2019. On the Réunion-Mayotte line, now operated by three companies (Air Austral, Corsair and Ewa Air since the end of December), the number of passengers remained 19% lower than in 2019 but increased significantly (135 262, +57%) compared to 2020.Traffic on Mauritius, in slight recovery since October, was once again slowed down by health measures at the end of the year. Only 40,713 passengers were counted in 2021 on Réunion-Mauritius, usually the airport’s second source of traffic after the mainland-Réunion lines. The decline is just as significant in Madagascar (6,280 passengers in twelve months), whose regular service only resumed in the last quarter, while being subject to health restrictions. Likewise, regular flights to South Africa, Comoros and Seychelles were only insured from the last weeks of 2021. Finally, services to China (Guangzhou), from India (Chennai) and Thailand (Bangkok) have not been reopened since their interruption in early 2020. In the field of freight, without returning to its pre-crisis level (-12.8% compared to 2019), activity remained sustained throughout the year. 24,873 tonnes of goods were processed at the cargo terminal in 2021, figure almost identical to that of 2020). 17,847 tonnes were recorded as imports (– 13.4% compared to 2019 but up +5.1% compared to 2020) and 7,026 tonnes for export (–17.3% compared to 2019 and -5.4% compared to 2020). Since the start of the health crisis, the drop in hold capacity generated by passenger traffic leads companies to resort more frequently to cargo flights, whose share in total traffic has increased by 52% in two years.
Gradual resumption of traffic at Roland-Arros airport
