According to Eurostat data released on Friday, the total number of passengers transported by air in 2005 rose by 8.5% to 706 million compared to 2004. In Cyprus, the passengers recorded an increase of 5.6% to 6.8 million.

Five member states recorded growth of 25% or more; they are: Latvia (+77.3%), Slovakia (+46.4%), Lithuania (+44.3%), Estonia (+40.6%) and Hungary (+24.9%). The highest numbers of passengers were observed in the United Kingdom (204 million), Germany (146 million), Spain (143.7 million), France (108 million) and Italy (88 million).

Heathrow the most popular airport

London/Heathrow was the most popular airport, having served 68 million passengers in 2005.

Air freight transport

Air freight transport in EU25 rose by 3.5% to 11 million tones. In Cyprus, it showed an increase of 5.5% to 39 thousand.