Cornwall Airport Newquay’s May Passenger Figures Revealed

The May heatwave filled Cornwall’s beaches. It turns out the departure lounge at Cornwall Airport Newquay was almost as busy.

The airport has released its figures for May, and they make for sunny reading. More than 42,000 people passed through the terminal over the month, with the runway kept ticking over by close to 2,000 air traffic movements.

A busy month in the departure lounge

The headline number is 42,941 passengers travelling through the airport in May. Behind that sat 1,901 air traffic movements, the comings and goings of aircraft that keep an airport running.

The Stansted route did a lot of the heavy lifting, flying at an 87% load factor. In plain terms, the planes heading to and from London were close to full.

Health and safety took centre stage

May was also Airports UK Health and Safety Week, and Newquay leaned into it. The airport ran 27 sessions across five days, pulling in over 180 bookings from staff, who go by #TeamNQY.

It is the sort of behind-the-scenes work that rarely gets a mention, but it is the reason the place keeps running smoothly while thousands of holidaymakers file through.

Going for three in a row

There is a bigger prize on the airport’s mind too. Newquay has been crowned winner of the Small Airport category for two years running, and the team is now chasing a hat-trick.

A third title would cement its reputation as one of the better small airports in the country, something the airport sums up with the line #SmallButMighty.

Cornwall gets the crown

With spring sunshine pouring down, the airport decided to name its destination of the month. The winner was a little closer to home than usual. Cornwall itself took the title, with Fowey singled out as one of the county’s most picturesque spots.

The airport has asked travellers to share their own favourite Cornish location, so the debate over the best view in the Duchy is officially open. So we’ll put the same question to you. What’s your favourite spot in Cornwall? Let us know in the comments.