EXETER Airport has recorded a strong year of growth with passenger numbers rising by 32 per cent to 582,347 in the year to March 31 – an increase of more than 139,000 on the previous year.

The boost has been driven by a significant expansion in routes and capacity, with continued strong demand for flights from the South West.

A key factor has been the introduction of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines’ daily service to Amsterdam a year ago, which has proved highly popular with passengers, achieving an average seat occupancy of around 80 per cent. The route provides access to more than 160 onward destinations worldwide via KLM’s global hub.

Further growth has been supported by TUI basing a second aircraft at Exeter last summer, doubling its capacity and introducing the new destination of Ibiza.

Meanwhile, Loganair launched a new service to Manchester in October after an absence of five years.

Stephen Wiltshire, managing director of Exeter Airport, said: “Seeing passenger numbers grow by more than 30 per cent over the past year is a fantastic achievement and reflects the strength of demand for flying from Exeter.

“The success of KLM’s Amsterdam service, together with TUI’s continued investment and the return of the Manchester route with Loganair, has significantly strengthened our network and given passengers even greater choice and connectivity.

“It’s particularly encouraging to see how well the Amsterdam route has performed, opening up global connections while also bringing more inbound visitors to the region.”

Growth is expected to continue in the year ahead, with TUI adding a new route to Kos in Greece from May and Ryanair increasing frequencies on its popular Malaga service.

Exeter Airport now serves 28 destinations across ten countries. It is part of leading UK regional airport operator Regional and City Airports (RCA), which also owns and operates Bournemouth Airport and Norwich Airport.