OREANDA-NEWS. Basel Aero, part of Russia's largest diversified industrial group Basic Element, announces operational results for January-March 2014 noting that passenger turnover across the company's four airports increased by 45%.

Airports in Sochi, Anapa, Krasnodar and Gelendzik, operated by Basel Aero, served 1, 403 942 passengers between January and March 2014 what is 45% more than the same period last year when the airports handled 965,019 passengers. A total of 1, 137 967 people (+52%) have passed through the airports on domestic routes while 265, 975 people used the international lines demonstrating 22% growth compared with the previous year.

The airports serviced 9,080 takeoffs and landings over the three months, 68% more than between January-March 2013. The airports processed 3,968 tonnes of cargo and mail, a 46% increase compared with the same period in 2013.

Sochi International Airport that served as the main gateway to the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi, has demonstrated a significant growth in operations. Over the first three months it handled 722,064 passengers (+88%) including 612, 260 (+92%) people using domestic routes and 109,804 (+69%) travelling internationally.

Sochi airport broke several records during the Olympics. On February 24, a day after the closing ceremony, Sochi airport served 575 takeoffs and landings, almost a quarter of the flights in February, and 25,000 passengers (the majority of them were outbound). A record 409 tons of luggage were processed that day.

The gateway has successfully coped with a 25%-increase in the airfield's maximum capacity of 24 takeoffs and landings per hour. There were 34 takeoffs and landings every hour on February 24.

Krasnodar International Airport served 627,939 passengers (+17%) in Q1 2014. Among them are 472,132 (+23%) people on the domestic routes, 155,807 (+2%) passengers picking up international destinations.

During this period Anapa International Airport served 51,554 people what exceeds the previous year's numbers by 25%.

Gelendzhik airport served 2,385 people in January-March 2014.

Leonid Sergeev, CEO of Basel Aero says:

“Increase in passenger traffic in the first quarter was caused mainly by the overload of the Sochi International Airport during the Olympics. The main gateway to the Games has successfully coped with overloads in all aspects of the airport's operations: baggage handling, passenger services, security issues.

Sochi International Airport served some 615,000 passengers, a quarter of its 2013 annual passenger traffic, between January 7 and March 18, 2014. Smooth operations wouldn't be possible without support of Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, Sochi-2014 Organizing Committee, air carriers as well as more than 30 of our partners including many Russian airports. We've got new challenges ahead of us: Formula 1 Grand Prix race, International Investment Forum, World Robot Olympiad and other events in Sochi. I believe the airport will successfully handle them.”