South Russian airports increased traffic 24% in 2011

South Russian airports—Sochi (AER), Anapa (AAQ), Gelendzhik (GDZ), Krasnodar (KRR) and Yeisk—reported passenger traffic of 5.4 million in 2011, up 24% over 2010. Passengers carried on domestic routes reached 4.6 million, up 22%. The airports served 772,000 international passengers, up 31% year-over-year.

KRR achieved the most growth at 20%; it handled 2.5 million passengers last year. Traffic increased 15% at AER (2 million passengers). GDZ, which opened in May 2010,  recorded 246,000 passengers for the full year 2011. AAQ, which was closed during the first half of the year due to runway reconstruction, served 523,000 passengers last year. Yeisk airport is also closed because of runway reconstruction.

In 2012, the airports are expected to boost passenger traffic by another 11%.