Spanish regional carrier Air Nostrum celebrated 100 million passengers transported in its almost 28 years of activity. The company completed more than 2.4 million flights since its first commercial operation, on 15 December 1994, to reach this figure.
On 1 December, José Carlos Castilla became the 100 millionth passenger on flight IB8391, which linked the airports of Seville (SVQ) and Valencia (VLC).
Minutes before landing, the cabin crew presented him with a bouquet of flowers and celebrated a toast together with all the passengers. Carlos Bartomeu, CEO of Air Nostrum, and Antonio García Aparicio, Director of Valencia Airport, led the commemoration ceremony at the arrival of the aircraft, a Bombardier CRJ1000 sporting a special livery.
Bartomeu presented Castilla with the prize of one hundred airline tickets that the customer and his family can use on future Air Nostrum flights. «I am delighted to be part of this great joy for Air Nostrum», said the passenger, who explained that he was travelling for work. «It has been a great surprise for me and it is a pleasure to be the 100 millionth passenger», he added.
The company’s CEO stated: «One hundred million passengers carried means that we have offered a great service to citizens; we have helped many people to do business or go on holiday and the most important thing has been to facilitate millions of hugs between our passengers and their partners, family and friends, which is especially relevant after the pandemic».
Sustained recovery after the pandemic
The Valencia-based airline’s record annual number of passengers carried was recorded in 2007, with a total of 5.667.000 travellers. In 2019, the last year before the start of the pandemic, Air Nostrum carried 5.184.000 passengers.
Like the other players in the industry, the airline suffered the impact of the sanitary restrictions from March 2020. However, it started to recover gradually since the lifting of the measures. In recent months, Air Nostrum continued to recover and now expects to end 2022 with around 4.400.000 passengers carried, a figure that would represent an increase of around 54% compared to 2021.
See also: Air Nostrum inaugurates a new domestic route from Barcelona
