ARCHIVED - San Sebastián airport reports a 260,000 per cent rise in passenger numbers!
Simple statistical analysis struggles to keep up with the effect of the Covid pandemic!
As both domestic and international tourism resume in Spain after the lifting of coronavirus restrictions the latest data published by the national airport management company show some extraordinary statistical results, with passenger numbers during May rising by a whopping 2,100 per cent in comparison with the same month last year.
Using the inter-annual comparison as a measure, the most successful airport during the month was that of San Sebastián in the Basque Country, where the number of passengers passing through the terminal building was an amazing 259,667 per cent higher than in May 2020!
However, closer examination of the statistics shows that this is due largely to the passenger total in May of last year reaching just 3 – in reality, the figure of 7,793 last month is nothing to shout about, and in May 2019 the equivalent was well over four times higher at 30,153.
At the same time, the nationwide picture shows an 82 per cent fall in passenger numbers so far this year in comparison with 2019.
Another eye-catching example both of the devastating effect of the pandemic last spring, and of how statistics do not always paint the whole picture if they are not properly interpreted!