newstodate.aero
Jan 27, 2011 (newstodate): Sweden's Kristianstad Airport is looking ahead with high hopes for fresh growth from 2011.
-We have gone through a period marked by stringent cost reductions, with staff costs down by 60 percent, and are now looking forward to the launch of the airport's first new regular route from March 29, 2011, when Ryanair starts twice-weekly flights to Barcelona, Spain, says Timothy Ayris, Kristianstad Airport CEO.
-Kristianstad Airport has under-performed for years, both in terms of passenger volumes and economically, but as the entire airport infrastructure is in place including a 2,135 m runway that can take aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 757 aircraft, ILS, DME and a fully-equipped passenger terminal, we are now ready to boost traffic and passenger volumes without raising operational costs.
-With this favorable cost-structure we are an ideal airport for a carrier like Ryanair, and we do consider this coming traffic to be the start of a new chapter marked by development, alongside our service to Stockholm Arlanda.
-We are also very interested in seeing cargo business at the airport, and we are fully capable of handling cargo traffic by trained staff with all equipment needed for such operations. Only this takes second priority at this stage when all efforts are dedicated to see passenger traffic taking off, says Mr Ayris.
Also on the agenda is a future revision of the airport's ownership structure now comprising communal interests, but a solution will await an improvement in the airport's economic performance and traffic volumes.
-We have gone through a period marked by stringent cost reductions, with staff costs down by 60 percent, and are now looking forward to the launch of the airport's first new regular route from March 29, 2011, when Ryanair starts twice-weekly flights to Barcelona, Spain, says Timothy Ayris, Kristianstad Airport CEO.
-Kristianstad Airport has under-performed for years, both in terms of passenger volumes and economically, but as the entire airport infrastructure is in place including a 2,135 m runway that can take aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 757 aircraft, ILS, DME and a fully-equipped passenger terminal, we are now ready to boost traffic and passenger volumes without raising operational costs.
-With this favorable cost-structure we are an ideal airport for a carrier like Ryanair, and we do consider this coming traffic to be the start of a new chapter marked by development, alongside our service to Stockholm Arlanda.
-We are also very interested in seeing cargo business at the airport, and we are fully capable of handling cargo traffic by trained staff with all equipment needed for such operations. Only this takes second priority at this stage when all efforts are dedicated to see passenger traffic taking off, says Mr Ayris.
Also on the agenda is a future revision of the airport's ownership structure now comprising communal interests, but a solution will await an improvement in the airport's economic performance and traffic volumes.