OREANDA-NEWS. Basel Aero, part of Russia’s largest diversified industrial group Basic Element, announces operational results for the first half of 2016, noting that passenger turnover across the company’s four airports increased by 16% year-on-year with the Sochi international airport showing record-breaking growth.

Airports in Sochi, Anapa, Krasnodar and Gelendzhik, operated by Basel Aero, served 3, 975,621 passengers in the first half of 2016, 16% more compared with the same period the previous year when 3,428,792 passengers went through the terminals. A total of  3, 778,193 passengers used the domestic lines, a 23% growth year-on-year. Nearly 200,000 passengers have passed through the airports on international routes, a 44% decrease year-on-year.

A number of aircraft movements amounted to 18,040, a 5% increase compared to the first half of 2015. Over 6,174 tons of cargo and mail was processed during the January-June period this year (a 26% rise).

Sochi international airport demonstrated record-breaking growth among Basel Aero airports. The facility handled 2,155,238 passengers in the first six months of 2016, a 36% growth year-on-year. Domestic passenger traffic in Sochi reached 2,104,000 passengers in January-June 2016, 41% more year-on-year, while international traffic decreased by 40% to 50,000 visitors.

Anapa international airport served 449,157 passengers in January-June 2016, a 28%-increase year-on-year.

Krasnodar international airport, the main hub for business travelers in Southern Russia, saw an 8% fall in passenger numbers with 1,307,424 passengers handled.