Monarch passenger numbers soar in December 2010

Despite the disruption due to adverse weather conditions in the UK, leading leisure airline Monarch saw passenger numbers soar yet again during the month of December.

Almost 200,000 holiday makers escaped the snow and freezing conditions in the UK in favour of sunshine hotspots across Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Cyprus – a 12.8% increase on the same month the previous year. The airline also recorded its highest ever December load factor of 80.07%.

In total for 2010 Monarch carried 5.8 million passengers across its charter and scheduled routes. The continued robust passenger numbers and strong average load factors during 2010 were aided by the launch of four new summer scheduled services to Turkey, which included Birmingham and Luton to Dalaman, Luton to Bodrum and Manchester to Antalya, and the launch of new winter services from Gatwick and Manchester to the Balearic Island of Majorca.