The Alicant operator AENA announced this week that the number of passengers passing through the airport during the first nine months of this year were down by 6.2%.This brought the number of passengers to 7,161,202 passengers.These figures went alongside a drop in the number of flights which dropped by 10.3% to 57,354 over the same period.

September figures were slightly more positive but when compared to the same period in 2008 the drop is 55%.The figures for British and German tourists dropped by 3.4 and 5.6% respectively.However there was a sharp increase in Spanish tourists.This figure went up to 17%.

AENA ,like all businesses ,is wanting a speedy end to the economic crisis ,particularly in the UK.They are hoping that the pound will strengthen before the new Alicante terminal opens when they are hoping for 20 million passengers a year.

Sadly the British economy shows no sign of recovery and so the winter tourism season is not looking very good.It represents at least half of the trade during the winter.There are slight signs of recovery in France and Germany and there is a hope that they might take up the shortfall.