FOLLOWING the terror attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport last month, flight bookings to the Turkish city dropped dramatically to new lows, according to research by ForwardKeys.
Bookings fell by 69 per cent in the week after the bombing, from a base which was already down due to earlier terror attacks in January and March. Transfers through Istanbul, one of Europe’s busiest hubs, were also down 36 per cent.
Since January, Istanbul has suffered from three terror attacks and travel was down 29 per cent over the six-month period, compared with the previous year. Transit traffic through Istanbul was 9 per cent up before July.
“Before this latest incident, our analysis showed terrorism was having an impact on visitors to Istanbul, although transit numbers had continued to rise. But with this attack, transit numbers have also been affected,” said Olivier Jager, co-founder and CEO of ForwardKeys.
Meanwhile, forward bookings for international arrivals in Istanbul, as of July 2, are 36 per cent down compared to the same period in 2015.
As for transit traffic in the coming six months from Europe and Asia Pacific, numbers are also behind by 1 per cent and 6 per cent respectively from last year. However, transit traffic from the Americas and the Middle East are currently ahead by 13 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.
Jager concluded: “In my view, the airport minimised the commercial impact of the attack by reopening so promptly and is to be congratulated for such speedy action.”
