September 2007: British passengers help Menorca's airport set new record
A surge of British passengers using Menorca's airport have helped it declare August as its busiest month ever.
Just under 530,000 passengers passed through in August according to official figures just out. That beats the previous record of 524,000 people exactly four years ago.
About 200,000 of the passengers were British - more than any other nationality. The number of Brits travelling through was up 6.6 per cent on last year.
It's great news for the island's airport which is weeks away from opening a brand new terminal.
In all, more than 5,000 flights landed or took off from Menorca in August. About 3,200 of those were national flights and 1,800 international.
After the British, Italian passengers were the highest group using the airport, followed by Germans and the Dutch.
The figures reveal the busiest day was Friday 17th August - a staggering 26,000 passengers used the airport that day.
Many of those will be glad when the new terminal opens in a few weeks' time. Builders have been working on it since November 2004.
It has 16 departure gates compared to the current terminal's 11, and five of those will have hi-tech boarding bridges.
The designers say the new building lets more light in, is more comfortable, and less confusing for passengers. It will have 43 check-in desks, a new arrivals area, and some high speed lifts to take people down to the baggage reclaim area.
Most importantly there are two new shopping areas, and new restaurants including a terrace that will be open throughout the year.
Because most of Spain's airports see huge surges in passenger traffic in the summer, the new terminal has a section which can be closed during the winter. This will help keep the running costs under control.