EUjet, the county’s low cost airline, has welcomed its 300,000th passenger – equivalent to nearly every resident in the districts of Ashford, Dover and Shepway taking a flight – since it began flying from Kent International Airport at Manston.

In addition the airline, which currently flies to 17 destinations from Thanet and a further six from Shannon, has taken more than 400,000 bookings since September 1 last year.

Stuart McGoldrick, group commercial director, said: "During our first ten months we have, as expected, experienced a number of highs, including the launch of the summer schedule, improved customer service thanks to the JetText service, and plenty of positive feedback from passengers.

"Improvements in our performance have seen on-time arrivals hit 92 per cent in April and 90 per cent in May, standards which our rivals at other South East airports can only dream of.

"We accept that not everything has gone according to plan. We were hit by the bad weather earlier in the year, a number of routes performed below expectations hitting overall passenger numbers, the loss of the Budapest route, and oil prices have risen dramatically.

"However, we remain optimistic about the long-term performance of EUjet and Kent International Airport."

EUjet is currently putting the finishing touches to its winter schedule and anticipates it will be ready to make an announcement early in July, with the new timetable which starts on October 1.

Mr McGoldrick added: "We now have a clearer understanding of where and when our customers want to travel to and are therefore better placed than ever to match our schedule and routes with demand.

"Our website – www.EUjet.com – is also in the process of being redeveloped with an emphasis on destinations to highlight where we can take passengers for a short break or a longer holiday."

During 2005 EUjet estimates that it will carry 600,000 passengers.