Basel Aero, part of Basic Element, one of the Russia's biggest diversified industry groups, informs that the airport has served the ten-millionth passenger since the beginning of the year. This is a record figure, achieved for the first time in the ten-year history of the company.
Today, on 23 November, the ten-millionth passenger of the Basel Aero group has been serviced at Sochi International Airport since the beginning of the year. It was Alexander Gutsalov departing to Moscow on S7 Airlines flight. The ceremony dedicated to the significant event was held at the Sochi airport, during which the anniversary passenger was presented with a certificate for free business lounges service in the Basel Aero airports. The S7 Airlines presented to the passenger a free flight certificate and souvenirs.
It should be reminded that the passenger traffic of the Basel Aero airports was 9 955 036 people in 2016. The company achieved the figure of ten million passengers for the first time in ten years of its history. The share of Sochi International Airport in the total group passenger flow for ten months of this year is more than 50% (more than 5 million people).
The main growth in the passenger traffic of the Group's airports was caused not only by the internal air transportation, but also by the increase in the flight frequency and opening of the new international routes: Tel Aviv, Tbilisi, Thessaloniki, Bangkok, Dubai, etc. The most popular destinations in the summer season were: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Ufa, Tyumen, Antalya and Istanbul.
In the autumn-winter period 2017-2018 it is planned to expand the flight geography and increase the frequency of flights to the available destinations at the Basel Aero airports. So, the additional flights to Makhachkala, Thessaloniki, Gyumri and the cities of Thailand (Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket) will be on the flight schedule of Krasnodar International Airport, and the new destination to Verona (Italy) will be launched. In the winter schedule of the Sochi airport, flights to Tel Aviv and Tbilisi, Rostov-on-Don and Mineralnye Vody will continue to operate, and the flight frequency to Kazan, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Tashkent and Istanbul will be increased.
Leonid Sergeev, CEO of Basel Aero:
"For the first time the passenger traffic of the Basel Aero airports has exceeded the 10 million mark since the beginning of the year. This is a very important indicator, which confirms the correctness of the company chosen strategic direction. The record number of passengers served was achieved, above all, through cooperation with airlines to develop the route network, as well as through the innovations introduction, optimization of aircraft maintenance processes, and continuous quality improvement of the services provided.
"The development of production systems, the implementation of such large-scale projects as Service Blue Printing and "PS-Partner" aimed at improving the work quality of the airport staff and its partners (tenants, law enforcement agencies, cleaning services, etc.) allow to provide a decent level of service at all points of passenger's experience at the airport. All employees of Basel Aero airports participate in the achievement of the desired objectives.
"This year we have completed several important investment projects, which, of course, contribute to the expansion of the flight geography - the new terminal of Anapa International Airport was opened, a runway in Krasnodar was put in operation, allowing to accommodate the wide-bodied vessels. We are determined to continue our development and continue to improve the work of the company's airports."
