BOURNEMOUTH Airport handled almost 10,000 more flights last year, figures show.

Civil Aviation Authority data shows 38,304 planes took off or landed at Bournemouth airport in 2021.

This was up 35 per cent from 28,370 in 2020, which was the lowest number since comparable records began in 2010.

By comparison, there were 38,540 flights in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 200,000 passengers boarded or departed from domestic or international flights at Bournemouth airport last year.

This was an increase on the 176,000 passengers who used the airport in 2020, but a fall on 803,000 in 2019.

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The figures include arrivals and departures, and travellers who changed from one aircraft to another as part of the same journey.

Steve Gill, managing director of Bournemouth Airport, said: “These figures highlight the impact of global travel restrictions on airports across the word during the pandemic.

"But the good news for passengers is that the number of seats we have on sale today compares with pre-pandemic levels, and some operators like TUI say bookings are actually up on pre-covid numbers. 

“Bournemouth Airport has over 30 destinations on offer for 2022-23 and with our main season just weeks away we’ve been recruiting for 75 staff to fill a variety of posts at the airport to meet what we know is strong demand for flights.”

Meanwhile, separate figures released by the Department for Transport show 14,500 so-called 'ghost' flights took place over a 19-month period during the pandemic.

The international flights, which had no more than 10% of their seats filled, were operated mainly to transport cargo or repatriate Britons stranded overseas.

Of these, 276 occurred at Bournemouth airport between March 2020 and September 2021.

Airlines have traditionally run ghost flights when they need to hit the 80 per cent threshold for using valuable take-off and landing slots at congested airports to retain the right to use them during the following year.

A DfT spokeswoman said: “Flights may operate with low passenger numbers for a whole range of reasons, including carrying key workers or vital cargo.

"However, we acted swiftly to prevent empty aircraft needing to fly solely to retain their slots.”